Configurable oven rack system

ABSTRACT

An oven to facilitate heating a food item is disclosed that includes an oven box one or more upper heating elements, and one or more lower heating elements. The oven box has a floor, a ceiling spaced across a height of the oven box from the floor, and at least one side wall that extends between the floor and the ceiling to at least partially delineate an interior of the oven box from an exterior thereof. The one or more upper heating elements are spaced proximate the ceiling relative to the one or more lower heating elements. The one or more lower heating elements are spaced proximate the floor relative to the one or more upper heating elements. The one or more lower heating elements are arranged in a first pattern and the one or more upper heating elements arranged in a second pattern. The first pattern is different than the second pattern.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This description generally relates to configurable oven rack systemsand, more particularly, to configurable oven rack systems in which fooditems are prepared.

BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art

Historically consumers have had a choice when hot, prepared food wasdesired. Some consumers would travel to a restaurant or other foodestablishment where such food would be prepared and consumed on thepremises. Other consumers would travel to the restaurant or other foodestablishment, purchase hot, prepared, food and transport the food to anoff-premises location, such as a home or picnic location, forconsumption. Yet other consumers ordered delivery of hot, prepared food,for consumption at home. Over time, the availability of delivery of hot,prepared, foods has increased and now plays a significant role in themarketplace. Delivery of such hot, prepared, foods was once consideredthe near exclusive, purview of Chinese take-out and pizza parlors.However, today even convenience stores and “fast-food” purveyors such asfranchised hamburger restaurants have taken to testing the deliverymarketplace.

The delivery of prepared foods traditionally occurs in several discreteacts. First, consumer places an order for a particular food item with arestaurant or similar food establishment. The restaurant or foodestablishment prepares the food item or food product per the customerorder. The prepared food item is packaged and delivered to theconsumer's location. The inherent challenges in such a delivery methodare numerous. In addition to the inevitable cooling that occurs whilethe hot food item is transported to the consumer, many foods mayexperience a commensurate breakdown in taste, texture, or consistencywith the passage of time. For example, the French fries at the burgerrestaurant may be hot and crispy, but the same French fries will becold, soggy, and limp by the time they make it home. To address suchissues, some food suppliers make use of “hot bags,” “thermal packaging”or similar insulated packaging, carriers, and/or food containers toretain at least a portion of the existing heat in the prepared foodwhile in transit to the consumer. While such measures may be at leastsomewhat effective in retaining heat in the food during transit, suchmeasures do little, if anything, to address issues with changes in foodtaste, texture, or consistency associated with the delay between thetime the food item is prepared and the time the food item is actuallyconsumed.

Further there are frequently mistakes in orders, with consumersreceiving food they did not order, and not receiving food they didorder. This can be extremely frustrating, and leaves the consumer orcustomer faced with the dilemma of settling for the incorrect order orawaiting a replacement order to be cooked and delivered.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item may be summarizedas including an oven rack containing an array of oven slots into whichcorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens are loadable, the oven rackincluding a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot towhich each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is electrically coupledwhen each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into arespective oven slot in the oven rack; a plurality of loadable ovensthat are insertable into the oven slots, each loadable oven having oneor more heating elements, and each of the loadable ovens including oneor more respective doors and a respective oven electrical interfacewherein a respective slot electrical interface of an oven slot iselectrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interface of aloadable oven when the loadable oven'is inserted into a respective ovenslot in the oven rack; a common electrical power distribution buscoupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the oven slots,the common electrical power distribution bus operable to powerindividual oven slots containing loadable ovens when one or more otherof the oven slots are empty and unpowered; and a temperature controlsystem used to control a temperature of one or more loadable ovenswithin the plurality of loadable ovens, the temperature control systemincluding at least one, processor and at least one processor-readablemedium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, thetemperature control system communicatively coupled to regulate the oneor more heating elements of the ovens. The common electrical powerdistribution bus of the oven rack system may include an externalelectrical interface that provides power to the oven rack system from apower outlet that is external to the oven rack system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus thatinterfaces with each oven slot in the oven rack and is communicablycoupled to any loadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in theoven rack. Securement points at each oven slot may detachably affix to aloadable oven in the oven slot of the oven rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachoven slot of the oven rack, the ejection switch at least partiallyejecting a loadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack whenactivated.

The system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable oven, wherein the extraction handle assists in removing aloadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack when actuated. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translate or rotatewithin the oven rack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rackmay translate in a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction within the oven rack. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translatehorizontally and vertically in a looping configuration within the ovenrack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rack may rotatewithin the oven rack about a central axis. The system may include one ormore cameras to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot,determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loadedwith a food item, or combinations thereof. The system may include one ormore proximity sensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an ovenslot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven isloaded with a food item, or combinations thereof.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that eachinclude one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or moreheating elements

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are constructed toreceive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that areloadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable oven. The system maymonitor a time frame between when food items leave a refrigerationsystem and when the food items begin a cooking cycle. The temperaturecontrol system may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based onquantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that wererecently cooked; humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peakcooking temperature of the oven. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to increase heating when anincreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. Thetemperature control system may modify the cooking profiles of the ovensto decrease heating when a decreased quantity of the food items wasrecently cooked. The plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of, the oven rack may remain at an elevated temperature above anambient temperature between multiple cooking cycles. The elevatedtemperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack remain may be a peak cooking temperature. Theelevated temperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted inthe oven slots of the oven rack remain may be a pre-heating temperaturelower than a peak cooking temperature.

The system may further include a set of casters connected to the ovenrack that assists in movement of the oven rack.

An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item may be summarizedas including oven rack containing an array of oven slots into whichcorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens are loadable, the oven rackincluding a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot towhich each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is electrically coupledwhen each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into arespective oven slot in the oven rack; a plurality of loadable ovensthat are insertable into the oven slots, each loadable oven having oneor more heating elements, and each of the loadable ovens including oneor more respective doors and a respective oven electrical interface,wherein a respective slot electrical interface of an oven slot iselectrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interface of aloadable oven when the loadable oven is inserted into a respective ovenslot in the oven rack: and a transfer robot that includes a robotic armand an end tool, the robotic arm located in a cargo area and movablewith respect to at least a first one of a pair of side walls, the endtool of the robotic arm being selectively positionable to selectivelyinteract with each of the ovens of the array of ovens,

The system may further include a common electrical power distributionbus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the ovenslots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable to powerindividual oven slots containing loadable ovens when one or more otherof the oven slots are empty and unpowered, the common electrical powerdistribution bus also including an external electrical interface thatprovides power to the oven rack system from a power outlet that isexternal to the oven rack system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus thatinterfaces with each oven slot in the oven rack and is communicablycoupled to any loadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in theoven rack. The end tool of the robotic arm may be selectivelypositionable to selectively insert a respective food item into each ofthe ovens of the array of ovens. The end tool of the robotic arm may beselectively positionable to selectively withdraw a respective food itemfrom each of the ovens of the array of ovens.

The system may further include a vehicle, the vehicle having a cargoarea including a floor, a ceiling, a pair of side walls, and a rearwall. The robotic arm may include a finger extension to selectivelyinteract with the one or more respective doors of each of the ovens ofthe array of ovens. The robotic arm may include a pizza peel tointerface with a food item. The oven doors may be locked, and onlyopenable using a robotic-based electrical key, a robotic-basedmechanical key, a robotic-based transmission signal, a robotic-basedactuation gripper, or combinations thereof. Loadable ovens may be onlyinsertable into the array of oven slots or removable from the array ofoven slots using a robotic-based electrical key, a robotic-basedmechanical key, a robotic-based transmission signal, a robotic-basedactuation gripper, or combinations thereof. The robotic arm may includeone or more cameras to confirm a position of a food item. The roboticarm may include one or more proximity sensors to confirm a position of afood item. The transfer robot may be supported by a platform that ismoveable with respect to the two-dimensional array of ovens. Securementpoints at each oven slot may detachably affix to a loadable oven in theoven slot of the oven rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachoven slot of the oven rack, the ejection switch at least partiallyejecting a loadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack whenactivated.

The system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable oven, wherein the extraction handle assists in removing aloadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack when actuated. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translate or rotatewithin the oven rack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rackmay translate in a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction within the oven rack. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translatehorizontally and vertically in a looping configuration within the ovenrack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rack may rotatewithin the oven rack about a central axis. The system may include one ormore cameras to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot,determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loadedwith a food item, or combinations thereof. The system may include one ormore proximity sensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an ovenslot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven isloaded with a food item, or combinations thereof.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that eachinclude one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or moreheating elements

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are also constructed toreceive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that areloadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens. The system maymonitor a time frame between when food items leave a refrigerationsystem and when the food items begin a cooking cycle. A temperaturecontrol system may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based onquantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that wererecently cooked humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peakcooking temperature of the oven. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to increase heating when anincreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. Thetemperature control system may modify the cooking profiles of the ovensto decrease heating when a decreased quantity of the food items wasrecently cooked. The plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack may remain at an elevated temperature above anambient temperature between multiple cooking cycles. The elevatedtemperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack remain may be a peak cooking temperature. Theelevated temperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens, mountedin the oven, slots of the oven rack remain may be a pre-heatingtemperature lower than a peak cooking temperature.

An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item may be summarizedas including oven rack containing an array of oven slots into whichcorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens are loadable, the oven rackincluding a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot towhich each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is electrically coupledwhen each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into arespective oven slot in the oven rack; a plurality of loadable ovensthat are insertable into the oven each loadable oven having one or moreheating elements, and each of the loadable ovens including one or morerespective doors and a respective oven electrical interface wherein arespective slot electrical interface of an oven slot is electricallycoupled to a respective oven electrical interface of a loadable ovenwhen the loadable oven is inserted into a respective oven slot the ovenrack conveyor system housed within the oven rack, wherein the conveyorsystem translates or rotates the array of oven slots within the ovenrack; and a temperature control system used to control a temperature ofone or more loadable ovens within the plurality of loadable ovens, thetemperature control system including at least one processor and at leastone processor-readable medium communicatively coupled to the at leastone processor, the temperature control system communicatively coupled toregulate the one or more heating elements of the ovens.

The system may further include a common electrical power distributionbus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the ovenslots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable to powerindividual oven slots containing loadable ovens when one or more otherof the oven slots empty and unpowered, the common electrical powerdistribution bus also including an external electrical interface thatprovides power to the oven rack system from a power outlet that isexternal to the oven rack system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus thatinterfaces with each oven slot in the oven rack and is communicablycoupled to any loadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in theoven rack. Securement points at each oven slot may detachably affix to aloadable oven in the oven slot of the oven rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachoven slot of the oven rack, the ejection switch at least partiallyejecting a loadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack whenactivated.

The system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable oven, wherein the extraction handle assists in removing aloadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack when actuated. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translate in ahorizontal direction, a vertical direction or a horizontal direction anda vertical direction within the oven rack. The array of oven slotscontained in the oven rack may translate horizontally and vertically ina looping configuration within the oven rack. The array of oven slotscontained in the oven rack may rotate within the oven rack about acentral axis. The system may include one or more cameras to confirmwhether an oven is loaded in an oven slot, determine a position of anoven door, confirm whether an oven is loaded with a food item, orcombinations thereof. The system may include one or more proximitysensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot_(;)determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loadedwith a food item, or combinations thereof.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that eachinclude one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or moreheating elements.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are constructed toreceive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that areloadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens. The system maymonitor a time me between when food items leave a refrigeration systemand when the food ems begin a cooking cycle. The temperature controlsystem may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based on quantity, size,and heating coefficients of food items that were recently cooked;humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peak cooking temperatureof the oven. The temperature control system may modify the cookingprofiles of the ovens to increase heating when an increased quantity ofthe food items was recently cooked. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to decrease heating when adecreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. The pluralityof loadable ovens mounted in the oven slots of the oven rack may remainat an elevated temperature above an ambient temperature between multiplecooking cycles. The elevated temperature at which the plurality ofloadable ovens mounted in the oven slots of the oven rack remain may bea peak cooking temperature. The elevated temperature at which theplurality of loadable ovens mounted in the oven slots of the oven rackremain may be a pre-heating temperature lower than a peak cookingtemperature.

The system may further include a set of casters connected to the ovenrack that assists in movement of the oven rack.

An oven may be summarized as including an oven box that has a floor, aceiling spaced across a height of the oven box from the floor, at leastone side wall that extends between the floor and the ceiling to at leastpartially delineate an interior of the oven box from an exteriorthereof: one or more upper heating elements; and one or more lowerheating elements, the one or more lower heating elements spacedproximate the floor relative to the one or more upper heating elementsand the one or more upper heating elements spaced proximate the ceilingrelative to the one or more lower heating elements, the one or morelower heating elements arranged in a first pattern and the one or moreupper heating elements arranged in a second pattern, the second patterndifferent than the first pattern. The pattern of the one or more upperheating elements may match a defined cooking characteristic of an uppersurface of a food item and the pattern of the one or more lower heatingelements may match a defined cooking characteristic of a lower surfaceof the food item to achieve different cooking profiles on the upper andthe lower surfaces of the food items.

The first pattern of the one or more lower heating elements may be oneof: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, a grid-shaped pattern, adiagonal pattern, a radial pattern, a concentric-circular pattern, aspiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, or combinations thereof. Thefirst pattern of the one or more lower heating, elements may be at leastone of: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, a grid-shapedpattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, a concentric-circularpattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, or combinationsthereof. The one or more lower heating elements may include a singleheating a element and the first pattern of the one or more lower heatingelements is one of: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, agrid-shaped pattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, aconcentric-circular pattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, orcombinations thereof.

The second pattern of the one or more upper heating elements may be oneof: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, a grid-shaped pattern adiagonal pattern, a radial pattern, a concentric-circular pattern, aspiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, or combinations thereof. Thesecond pattern of the one or more upper heating elements may be at leastone of a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, a grid-shapedpattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, a concentric-circularpattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, or combinationsthereof. The one or more upper heating elements may include a singleheating element and the second pattern of the one or more upper heatingelements is one of: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, agrid-shaped pattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, aconcentric-circular pattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, orcombinations thereof. The one or more lower heating elements may have arespective cross-sectional shape and the one or more upper heatingelements has a respective cross-sectional shape. The respectivecross-sectional shape of the one or more upper heating elements may bedifferent from the respective cross-sectional shape of the one or morelower heating elements The one or more lower heating elements may have arespective resistivity and the one or more upper heating elements has arespective resistivity. The respective resistivity of the one or moreupper heating elements may be different from the respective resistivityof the one or more lower heating elements. The oven may include one ormore electrical connectors to which the upper heating elements areremovably electrically coupled.

The oven may further include a number of additional upper heatingelements which are exchangeable with the one or more upper heatingelements to change an arrangement of the upper heating elements spacedproximate the ceiling of the oven box. The oven may include one or moreelectrical connectors to which the lower heating elements are removablyelectrically coupled.

The oven may further include a number of additional lower heatingelements which are exchangeable with the one or more lower heatingelements to change an arrangement of the heating elements spacedproximate the floor of the oven box. The oven may include one or moreelectrical connectors to which the, upper heating elements are removablyelectrically coupled, and one or more electrical connectors to which thelower heating elements are removably electrically coupled. The one ormore upper heating elements may be interchangeable with the one or morelower heating elements. The one or more upper heating elements, the oneor more lower heating elements, or both, may be bendable to changecooking characteristics.

The one or more upper heating elements or the one or more lower heatingelements, or both the one or more upper and the one or more lowerheating elements may be positioned in the interior of the oven box, andmay further include at least one thermally insulating layer spacedoutwardly of the floor, the ceiling or the at least one side wall withrespect to the interior of the oven box.

An oven may be summarized as including an oven box having: a floor; aceiling spaced across a height of the oven box from the floor; at leastone side wall that extends between the floor and the ceiling to at leastpartially delineate an interior of the oven box from an exteriorthereof; and at least one of; one or more upper heating elements; andone or more lower heating elements, the one or more lower heatingelements spaced proximate the floor relative to the one or more upperheating elements, and the one or more upper heating elements spacedproximate the ceiling relative to the one or more lower heatingelements, the oven box containing a support structure upon which a fooditem is placed during a cooking process the support structure includingelements that are spaced and have a pattern that minimalizes surfacearea in contact with the food items. The pattern of the supportstructure elements may be one of: a longitudinal pattern, a traversepattern, a gild-shaped pattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, aconcentric-circular pattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, orcombinations thereof. The pattern of the support structure elements maybe at least one of: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, agrid-shaped pattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, aconcentric-circular pattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, orcombinations thereof. The support structure elements include a singlesupport structure element and the pattern of the support structureelement may be one of: a longitudinal pattern, a traverse pattern, agrid-shaped pattern, a diagonal pattern, a radial pattern, aconcentric-circular pattern, a spiral pattern, a zig-zagging pattern, orcombinations thereof. The elements of the support structure may bemovable to change the minimum surface area in contact with a food itembased upon the food item. The elements of the support structure may bebendable to change the minimum surface area in contact with a food itembased upon the food item. The support structures of the loadable ovensmay be exchangeable to change the minimum surface area in contact with afood item based upon the food item.

The oven may further include at least one thermally insulating layerspaced outwardly of the floor, the ceiling or the at least one side wallwith respect to the interior of the oven box.

An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item may be summarizedas including an oven rack containing an array of oven slots into whichcorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens are loadable the oven rackincluding a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot towhich each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is electrically coupledwhen each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into arespective oven slot in the oven rack; and a plurality of loadable ovensthat are insertable into the oven slots, each of the loadable ovensincluding one or more respective doors and a respective oven electricalinterface, wherein a respective slot electrical interface of an ovenslot is electrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interfaceof a loadable oven when the loadable oven is inserted into a respectiveoven slot in the oven rack, wherein each of the plurality of loadableovens has one or more upper heating elements and one or more lowerheating elements, the one or more upper heating elements having adifferent pattern than the one or more lower heating elements. A patternformed by the one or more upper heating elements may be individuallymatched to cooking characteristics of a food item's upper surface, and apattern formed by the one or more lower heating elements may beindividually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item's lowersurface to evenly cook the food items in the loadable ovens, when thecooking characteristics of the food items upper surface are differentfrom the cooking characteristics of the food item's lower surface. Thepattern formed by the one or more upper heating elements may includelongitudinal heating elements, traverse heating elements, grid-patternedheating elements, cross-hatch patterned heating elements, radiallyextending heating elements, concentric-circular patterned heatingelements, a series of zig-zagging heating elements, volute-patternedheating elements, or combinations thereof. The pattern formed by the oneor more lower heating elements may include longitudinal heatingelements, traverse heating elements, grid-patterned heating elements,cross-hatch patterned heating elements, radially extending heatingelements, concentric-circular patterned heating elements, a series ofzig-zagging heating elements, volute-patterned heating elements, orcombinations thereof. A first set of one or more upper heating elementsmay be exchangeable with a second set of one or more upper heatingelements that have a different pattern food items with different cookingcharacteristics. Individual elements of the one or more upper heatingelements, individual elements of the one or more lower heating elements,or both, may be movable to change cooking characteristics of the one ormore heating elements. Individual elements of the one or more upperheating elements, individual elements of the one or more lower heatingelements, or both, may be bendable to change cooking characteristics ofthe one or more heating elements.

The system may further include a common electrical power distributionbus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the ovenslots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable to powerindividual oven slots containing loadable ovens when one or more otherof the oven slots are empty and unpowered.

The system may further include a temperature control system used tocontrol a temperature of one or more loadable ovens within the pluralityof loadable ovens, the temperature control system including at least oneprocessor and at least one processor-readable medium communicativelycoupled to the at least one processor, the temperature control systemcommunicatively coupled to regulate the one or more heating elements ofthe ovens. The common electrical power distribution bus of the oven racksystem may include an external electrical interface that provides powerto the oven rack system from a power outlet that is external to the ovenrack system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus thatinterfaces with each oven slot in the oven rack and is communicablycoupled to any loadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in theoven rack. Securement points at each oven slot may detachably affix to aloadable oven in the oven slot of the oven rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachoven slot of the oven rack, the ejection switch at least partiallyejecting a loadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack whenactivated.

The system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable oven, wherein the extraction handle assists in removing aloadable oven from an over slot of the oven rack when actuated. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translate or rotatewithin the oven rack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rackmay translate in a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction within the oven rack. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translatehorizontally and vertically in a looping configuration within the ovenrack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rack may rotatewithin the oven rack about a central axis. The system may include one ormore cameras to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot,determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven, is loadedwith a food item, or combinations thereof. The system may include one ormore proximity sensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an ovenslot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven isloaded with a food item, or combinations thereof.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that eachinclude one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or moreheating elements.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are constructed toreceive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that areloadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens. The system maymonitor a time frame between when food items leave a refrigerationsystem and when the food items begin a cooking cycle. The temperaturecontrol system may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based onquantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that wererecently cooked; humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peakcooking temperature of the oven. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to increase heating when anincreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. Thetemperature control system may modify the cooking profiles of the ovensto decrease heating when a decreased quantity of the food items wasrecently cooked. The plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack may remain at an elevated temperature above anambient temperature between multiple cooking cycles. The elevatedtemperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack remain may be a peak cooking temperature. Theelevated temperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted inthe oven slots of the oven rack remain ay be a pre-heating temperaturelower than a peak cooking temperature.

The system may further include a set of casters connected oven rack thatassists n movement of the oven rack.

An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item may be summarizedas including an oven rack containing an array of oven slots into whichcorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens are loadable, the oven rackincluding a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot towhich each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is electricallycoupled, when each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is insertedinto a respective oven slot in the oven rack; and a plurality ofloadable ovens that are insertable into the oven slots, each loadableoven having one or more heating elements, and each of the loadable ovensincluding one or more respective doors and a respective oven electricalinterface, wherein a respective slot electrical interface of an ovenslot is electrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interfaceof a loadable oven when the loadable oven is inserted into a respectiveoven slot in the oven rack, each of the plurality of loadable ovenscontaining a support structure upon which the food item is placed duringa cooking process the support structure including elements that arespaced and patterned to have a minimum surface area in contact with thefood items. The support structure may include elements that areconfigured as a grate, a grill, a screen, a grid, cross-hatched, orcombinations therein. The elements of the support structure may bemovable to change the minimum surface area in contact with a food itembased upon the food item. The elements of the support structure may bebendable to change the minimum surface ea in contact with a food itembased upon the food item. The support structures of the loadable ovensmay be exchangeable to change the minimum surface area in contact with afood item based upon the food item.

The system may further include a transfer robot that includes a roboticarm and an end tool, the robotic arm located in a cargo area and movablewith expect to at least a first side wall, the end tool of the roboticarm being selectively positionable to electively interact with each ofthe ovens of the array of ovens.

The system may further include a common electrical power distributionbus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the ovenslots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable to powerindividual oven slots containing loadable ovens when one or more otherof the oven slots are empty and unpowered, the common electrical powerdistribution bus also including an external electrical interface thatprovides power to the oven rack system from a power outlet that isexternal to the oven rack system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus that theach oven slot in the oven rack and is communicably coupled to anyloadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in the oven rack. Theend tool of the robotic, arm may be selectively positionable toselectively insert a respective food item into each of the ovens of thearray of ovens. The end tool of the robotic arm may be selectivelypositionable to selectively withdraw a respective food item from each ofthe ovens of the array of ovens.

The system may further include a vehicle, the vehicle having a cargoarea including a floor, a ceiling, a pair of side walls, and a rearwall. The robotic arm may include a finger extension to selectivelyinteract with the one or more respective doors of each of the ovens ofthe array of ovens. The robotic arm may include a pizza peel tointerface with a food item. The oven doors may be locked, and onlyopenable using a robotic-based electrical key, a robotic-basedmechanical key, a robotic-based transmission signal, a robotic-basedactuation gripper, or combinations thereof. The loadable ovens may beonly insertable into the array of oven slots or removable from the arrayof oven slots using a robotic-based electrical key, a robotic-basedmechanical key, a robotic-based transmission signal, a robotic-basedactuation gripper, or combinations thereof. The robotic arm may includeone or more cameras to confirm a position of a food item. The roboticarm may include one or more proximity sensors to confirm position of afood item. The transfer robot may be supported by a platform that ismoveable h respect to the array of ovens. Securement points at each ovenslot may detachably affix to a loadable oven in the oven slot of theoven rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachoven slot of the oven rack, the ejection switch at least partiallyejecting a loadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack whenactivated.

The system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable oven, wherein the extraction handle assists in removing aloadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack when actuated. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translate or rotatewithin the oven rack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rackmay translate in a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction within the oven rack. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translatehorizontally and vertically in a looping configuration within the ovenrack. The array of oven slots contained in the oven rack may rotatewithin the oven rack about a central axis. The system may include one ormore cameras to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot,determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loadedwith a food item, or combinations thereof. The system may include one ormore proximity sensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an ovenslot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven isloaded with a food item, or combinations thereof.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that eachinclude one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or moreheating elements.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are also constructed toreceive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that areloadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens. The system maymonitor a time frame between when food items leave a refrigerationsystem and when the food items begin a cooking cycle. A temperaturecontrol system may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based onquantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that wererecently cooked; humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peakcooking temperature of the oven. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to increase heating when anincreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. Thetemperature control system may modify the cooking profiles of the ovensto decrease heating when a decreased quantity of the food items wasrecently cooked. The plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack may remain at an elevated temperature above anambient temperature between multiple cooking cycles. The elevatedtemperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack remain may be a peak cooking temperature. Theelevated temperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted inthe oven slots of the oven rack remain may be a pre-heating temperaturelower than a peak cooking temperature.

An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item may be summarizedas including an oven rack containing an array of oven slots into whichcorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens are loadable, the oven rackincluding a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot towhich each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is electrically coupledwhen each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into arespective oven slot in the oven rack; and a plurality of loadable ovensthat are insertable into the oven slots, each loadable oven having oneor more heating elements, and each of the loadable ovens including oneor more respective doors and a respective oven electrical interface,wherein a respective slot electrical interface of an oven slot iselectrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interface of aloadable oven when the loadable oven is inserted into a respective ovenslot in the oven rack, each of the plurality of loadable ovens havingone or more upper heating elements and one or more lower heatingelements, the one or more upper heating elements having a differentpattern than the one or more lower heating elements, and each of theplurality of loadable ovens containing a support structure upon whichthe food item is placed during a cooking process, the support structureincluding elements that are spaced and patterned to have a minimumsurface area in contact with the food items.

A pattern formed by the one or more upper heating elements may beindividually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item's uppersurface, and a pattern formed by the one or more lower heating elementsmay be individually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item'slower surface to evenly cook the food items in the loadable ovens, whenthe cooking characteristics of the food item's upper surface aredifferent from the cooking, characteristics of the food item's lowersurface. A pattern formed by the one or more upper heating elements mayinclude longitudinal heating elements, traverse heating elements,grid-patterned heating elements, cross-hatch patterned heating elements,radially extending heating elements, concentric-circular patternedheating elements, a series of zig-zagging heating elements,volute-patterned heating elements, or combinations thereof. A patternformed by the one or more lower heating elements may includelongitudinal heating elements, traverse heating elements, grid-patternedheating elements, cross-hatch patterned heating elements, radiallyextending heating elements, concentric-circular patterned heatingelements, a series of zig-zagging heating elements, volute-patternedheating elements, or combinations thereof. The one or more upper heatingelements may be exchangeable with one or more upper heating elementsthat have a different pattern for food items with different cookingcharacteristics. Individual elements of the one or more upper heatingelements, individual elements of the one or more lower heating elements,or both, may be movable to change cooking characteristics of the one ormore heating elements. Individual elements of the one or more upperheating elements, individual elements of the one or more lower heatingelements, or both, may be bendable to change cooking characteristics ofthe one or more heating elements. The support structure may includeelements that are configured as a grate, a grill, a screen, a grid,cross-hatched, or combinations therein. The elements of the supportstructure may be movable to change the minimum surface area in contactwith a food item based upon the food item. The elements of the supportstructure may be bendable to change the minimum surface area in, contactwith a food item based upon the food item. The support structure of theloadable ovens may be exchangeable to change the minimum surface area incontact with a food item based upon the food item.

The system may further include a conveyor system housed within the ovenrack, wherein the conveyor system translates or rotates the array ofoven slots within the oven rack.

The system may further include a temperature control system used tocontrol a temperature of one or more loadable ovens within the pluralityof loadable ovens, the temperature control system including at east oneprocessor and at least one processor-readable medium communicativelycoupled to the at least one processor, the temperature control systemcommunicatively coupled to regulate the one or more heating elements ofthe ovens.

The system may further include a common electrical power distributionbus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the ovenslots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable to powerindividual oven slots containing loadable ovens when one or more otherof the oven slots are empty and unpowered, the common electrical powerdistribution bus also including an external electrical interface thatprovides power to the oven rack system from a power outlet that isexternal to the oven rack system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus thatinterfaces with each oven slot in the oven rack and is communicablycoupled to any loadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in theoven rack. Securement points at each oven slot may detachably affix to aloadable oven in the oven slot of the oven rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachoven slot of the oven rack, the ejection switch at least partiallyejecting a loadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack whenactivated.

system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable oven, wherein the extraction handle assists in removing aloadable oven from an oven slot of the oven rack when actuated. Thearray of oven slots contained in the oven rack may translate in ahorizontal direction, a vertical direction, or a horizontal directionand a vertical direction within the oven rack. The array of oven slotscontained in the oven rack may translate horizontally and vertically ina looping configuration within the oven rack. The array of oven slotscontained in the oven rack may rotate within the oven rack about acentral axis. The system may include one or more cameras to confirmwhether an oven is loaded in an oven slot, determine a position o anoven door, confirm whether an oven is loaded with a food item, orcombinations thereof. The system may include one or more proximitysensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot, determinea position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loaded with afood item, or combinations thereof,

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that eachinclude one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or moreheating elements.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are constructed toreceive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that areloadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens. The system maymonitor a time frame between when, food items leave a refrigerationsystem and when the food items begin a cooking cycle. The temperaturecontrol system may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based onquantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that wererecently cooked; humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peakcooking temperature of the oven. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to increase heating when anincreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. Thetemperature control system may modify the cooking profiles of the ovensto decrease heating when a decreased quantity of the food items wasrecently cooked. The plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack may remain at an elevated temperature above anambient temperature between multiple cooking cycles. The elevatedtemperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted in the ovenslots of the oven rack remain may be a peak cooking temperature. Theelevated temperature at which the plurality of loadable ovens mounted inthe oven slots of the oven rack remain may be a pre-heating temperaturelower than a peak cooking temperature.

The system may further include a set of casters connected to the ovenrack that assists in movement of the oven rack.

A food handling system to facilitate active heating and active coolingof a food item may be summarized as including a plurality of loadablerefrigeration/oven units, each of the loadable refrigeration/oven unitsrespectively having an exterior, an insulated compartment with aninterior, a door that is moveable to selectively prevent or provideaccess to the interior of the insulated compartment from the exterior ofthe loadable refrigeration/oven unit, at least one heating element, atleast one cooling element, and at least one unit interface, theexteriors of the loadable refrigeration/oven units each having a definedshape and defined dimensions, the defined shape and defined dimensionsof each of the loadable refrigeration/oven units being the same as thedefined shape and defined dimensions of each other of the plurality ofloadable refrigeration/oven units; and a rack comprising an array ofslots, each slot having a respective defined shape and defineddimensions which is shaped and sized to removably receive a respectiveone of the loadable refrigeration/oven units, the rack furthercomprising a number of complimentary slot interfaces that arecomplimentary to the unit interfaces of the loadable refrigeration/ovenunits, and positioned to automatically couple to the unit interfaces ofthe loadable refrigeration/oven nits when the loadablerefrigeration/oven units are positioned in a leaded position in theslot, and to automatically decoupled from to the unit interfaces of theloadable refrigeration/oven units when the loadable refrigeration/ovenunits are removed from the loaded position. Each of the plurality ofloadable refrigeration/oven units may have one or more upper heatingelements and one or more lower heating elements, the one or more upperheating elements forming a different pattern than the one or more lowerheating elements.

A pattern formed by the one or more upper heating elements may beindividually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item's uppersurface, and a pattern formed by the one or more lower heating elementsmay be individually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item'slower surface to evenly cook the food items in the loadablerefrigeration/oven units, when the cooking characteristics of the fooditem's upper surface are different from the cooking characteristics ofthe food item's lower surface. A pattern formed by the one or more upperheating elements may include longitudinal heating elements, traverseheating elements, grid-patterned heating elements, cross-hatch patternedheating elements, radially extending heating elements,concentric-circular patterned heating elements, a series of zig-zaggingheating, elements, volute-patterned heating elements, or combinationsthereof. A pattern formed by the one or more lower heating elements mayinclude longitudinal heating elements, traverse heating elements,grid-patterned heating elements, cross-hatch patterned heating elements,radially extending heating elements, concentric-circular patternedheating elements, a series of zig-zagging heating elements,volute-patterned heating elements, or combinations thereof. The one ormore upper heating elements may be exchangeable with one or more upperheating elements that have a different pattern for food items withdifferent cooking characteristics. Individual elements of the one ormore upper heating elements, individual elements of the one or morelower heating elements or both, may be movable to change the cookingcharacteristics of the one or more heating elements. Individual elementsof the one or more upper heating elements, individual elements of theone or more lower heating elements, or both, may be bendable to changethe cooking characteristics of the one or more heating elements. Theinterfaces may use electrical current to power heating and cooling coilsfor heating and cooling of the food items. The interfaces may useelectrical current to power to radiant/resistive heater elements forheating of the food items. The interlaces may use electrical current topower heat exchangers and thermoelectric coolers employing a Peltiereffect for heating and cooling of the food items. The interfaces mayemploy fluid thermal transfer of gas or liquid for cooling, heating, orcooling and heating of the food items. The interfaces may employseparate heating and cooling coils to perform the heating and cooling ofthe food items. The interfaces may employ liquid coolant throughconduits and valves for cooling of the food items.

Interfaces may also include communications interface the communicationinterfaces including electrical communication, inductive communication,optical communication, wireless/radio communications, or combinationsthereof.

The system may further elude a common electrical power distribution buscoupled to the respective slot interfaces of the slots, the commonelectrical power distribution bus operable to power individual slotscontaining loadable refrigeration/oven units when one or more other ofthe slots are empty and unpowered.

The system may further include a temperature control system used tocontrol a temperature of one or more loadable refrigeration/oven unitswithin the plurality of loadable refrigeration/oven units, thetemperature control system including at least one processor and at leastone processor-readable medium communicatively coupled to the at leastone processor, the temperature control system communicatively coupled toregulate the one or more heating elements of the ovens. The commonelectrical power distribution bus of the food handling system mayinclude an external electrical interface that provides power to the foodhandling system from a power outlet that is external to the foodhandling system.

The system may further include an electronic communications bus thatinterfaces with each slot in the rack and is communicably coupled to anyloadable refrigeration/oven unit that is inserted into a slot in therack. Securement points at each slot may detachably affix to a loadablerefrigeration/oven unit in the slot of the rack.

The system may further include an ejection switch associated with eachslot of the rack, the ejection switch at least partially ejecting aloadable refrigeration/oven unit from a slot of the rack when activated.

The system may further include an extraction handle associated with eachloadable refrigeration/oven unit, wherein the extraction handle assistsin removing a loadable refrigeration/oven unit from a slot of the rackwhen actuated. The array of slots contained in the rack may translate orrotate within the rack. The array of slots contained in the rack maytranslate in a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction within the rack. The grayof slots contained in the rack may translate horizontally and verticallyin a looping configuration within the rack. The array of slots containedin the rack may rotate within the rack about a central axis. The systemmay include one or more cameras to confirm whether an oven is loaded ina slot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven isloaded with a food item, or combinations thereof. The system may includeone or more proximity sensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in aslot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven isloaded with a food item, or combinations thereof.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the loadable refrigeration/oven units are thermally insulatedunits that each include one or more refrigerant coils in addition tohaving one ore heating elements.

The system may further include a combination refrigeration system,wherein the array of slots in the rack are constructed to receivecorrespondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units hat are loadable inthe slots instead of the loadable refrigeration/oven units. The systemmay monitor a time frame between when food items leave a refrigerationsystem and when the food items begin a cooking cycle. The temperaturecontrol system may modify cooking profiles of the ovens based onquantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that wererecently cooked; humidity; starting temperature of an oven; and peakcooking temperature of the oven. The temperature control system maymodify the cooking profiles of the ovens to increase heating when anincreased quantity of the food items was recently cooked. Thetemperature control system may modify the cooking profiles of the ovensto decrease heating when decreased quantity of the food items wasrecently cooked. The plurality of loadable refrigeration/oven unitsmounted in the slots of the rack may remain at an elevated temperatureabove an ambient temperature between multiple cooking cycles. Theelevated temperature at which the plurality of loadablerefrigeration/oven units mounted in the slots of the rack remain may bea peak cooking temperature. The elevated temperature at which theplurality of loadable refrigeration/oven units mounted in the slots ofthe rack remain may be a pre-heating temperature lower than a peakcooking temperature.

The system may further include a set of casters connected to the rackthat assists in movement of the rack.

These features, with other technological improvements that will becomesubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully described hereafter and claimed, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elementsor acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of variouselements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elementsare arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility.Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are notintended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of theparticular elements, and have been solely selected for ease ofrecognition in the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a side isometric view of a configurable oven rack systemhaving an array of oven slots, the oven slots shaped and sized toreceive loadable ovens, according to at least one illustratedimplementation.

FIG. 1B is a side isometric view of a configurable oven rack systemhaving an array of oven slots, the oven slots shaped and sized toreceive loadable ovens, the configurable oven rack system furtherincluding a conveyor system for moving the oven slots vertically andhorizontally, according to at least one illustrated implementation.

FIG. 1C is a side isometric view of a configurable oven rack systemhaving an array of oven slots, the oven slots shaped and sized toreceive loadable ovens, the configurable oven rack system furtherincluding a conveyor system for rotating the oven slots about a centralaxis, according to at least one illustrated implementation,

FIG. 1D is a top perspective view of an oven slot and loadable oven inwhich the upper heating elements of the loadable oven are configured ina circular spiral pattern and the lower heating elements of the loadableoven are configured in as a series of zig-zagging elements.

FIGS. 1E-1J are top views of various implementations of upper heatingelements and lower heating elements that are shaped in differentconfigurations.

FIG. 1K is a top view of a support structure that contain elements whichare aligned in a cross-hatched configuration to minimize contact surfacearea with the food items during the cooking process,

FIG. 2 is a side isometric view of the front of a second rackconfiguration that may contain one or more ovens, according to at leastone illustrated implementation.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a portion of a cargo area of a vehiclethat may be used to prepare hot food during delivery in which theright-hand interior side wall has been cut away, the cargo area toinclude a third rack configuration that may contain an array of ovens,and a transfer robot to transfer food items to and from the array ofovens, according to at least one illustrated implementation.

FIG. 4 is an isometric exterior view of a vehicle having a firstconfiguration that may be used to prepare hot food during delivery or ata remote location, according to at least one illustrated implementation,

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a portion of a cargo area having a secondconfiguration that may be used to prepare hot food for delivery in whichthe right-hand interior side wall has been cut away, according to atleast one illustrated implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However one skilled in the relevant art will recognize thatembodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, and the like. Inother instances, certain structures associated with food preparationdevices such as ovens, skillets, and other similar devices, closed-loopcontrollers used to control cooking conditions, food preparationtechniques, wired and wireless communicators protocols, wired andwireless transceivers, radios, communications ports, geolocation andoptimized route mapping algorithms have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.In other instances, certain structures associated with conveyors,robots, and/or vehicles have not been shown or described in detail toavoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment n embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, suchas, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open,inclusive sense, that is as “including, but not limited to.” As used inthis specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a, ”“an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearlydictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term “or” isgenerally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise The headings and Abstract of the Disclosureprovided herein are for convenience only and do not interpret the scopeor meaning of the embodiments,

As used her the terms “food item” and “food product” refer or productintended for human consumption. Although illustrated and describedherein in the context of pizza, to provide a readily comprehensible andeasily understood description of one illustrative embodiment, one ofordinary skill in the culinary arts and food preparation will readilyappreciate the broad applicability of the systems, methods, andapparatuses described herein across any number of prepared food items orproducts, including cooked and uncooked food items or products, andingredients or components of food items and products.

As used herein the terms “robot” or “robotic” refer to any device,system, or combination of systems and devices that includes at least oneappendage, typically with an end of arm tool or end effector, where theat least one, appendage is selectively moveable to perform work or anoperation useful the preparation of a food item or packaging of a fooditem or food product. The robot may be autonomously controlled, forinstance based at least in part on information from one or more sensors(e.g., optical sensors used with machine-vision algorithms, positionencoders, temperature sensors, moisture, or humidity sensors).Alternatively, one or more robots may be remotely controlled by a humanoperator. Alternatively, one or more robots may be partially remotelycontrolled by a human operator and partially autonomously controlled.

As used herein the term “cooking unit” refers to any device, system, orcombination of systems and devices useful in cooking or heating of afood product. While such preparation may include the heating of foodproducts during preparation, such preparation may also include thepartial or complete cooking of one or more food products. Additionally,while the term “oven” may be used interchangeably with the term “cookingunit” herein, such usage should not limit the applicability of thesystems and methods described herein to only foods which may be preparedin an oven. For example, one or more burners, either gas or electric orinductive, a hot skillet surface, a deep fryer, a microwave oven, and/ortoaster may be considered a “cooking unit” that included within thescope of the systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein.Further, the cooking unit may be able to control more than temperature.For example, some cooking units may control pressure and/or humidity.Further, some cooking units may control airflow therein, thus able tooperate in a convective cooking mode if desired, for instance todecrease cooking time.

As used herein the term “delivery vehicle” or “vehicle” refers to anycar, truck, van, drone, boat, dirigible, spaceship, or other vehicleuseful in cooking and heating a food item during a delivery process to acustomer. The size and shape of the delivery vehicle may depend in parton licensing requirements of the locality in which the delivery vehicleis intended to operate. In some instances, the size and shape of thedelivery vehicle may depend on the street layout and the surroundingenvironment of the locality in which the delivery vehicle is intended tooperate. For example, small, tight city streets may require a deliveryvehicle that is comparatively shorter and/or narrower than a deliveryvehicle that may safely and conveniently navigate larger, suburbanthoroughfares.

FIG. 1A depicts a first implementation of a configurable oven racksystem 100 shaped and sized to receive separate loadable ovens 102 whichare loadable into a plurality of oven slots 110 in the configurable ovenrack system. This implementation includes a configurable oven racksystem 100 having an array of oven slots 110 into which correspondinglysized, loadable ovens 102 may be inserted. The configurable oven racksystem 100 may be used in a stationary environment or in food deliveryvehicle. As shown in FIG. 1A, in one implementation of a configurableoven rack system 100, there are two columns with three oven slots 110 ineach column. In other implementations, there may be more or less columnsof oven slots 110, and more or less oven slots 110 in each column. Inanother implementation each column of oven slots 110 includes ten ovenslots. In at least one implementations each individual loadable oven 102is associated with an electrical temperature controller system having anindividual indicator or display panel 120.

The configurable oven rack system 100 may include a front face 104, anopposing back face 106, and one or more sides 108 extendingtherebetween. At least one of the sides 108 may include a handle 122that may be used to push, pull or otherwise maneuver the configurableoven rack system 100. In some implementations, the handle 122 may belocated within a recessed area 124 so the handle 122 does not extendbeyond the side 108 of the configurable oven rack system 100. The frontface 104 of the rack 100 may include a plurality of oven slots 110 intowhich individual ovens 102 may be loaded. The oven slots 110 may beregularly spaced in one or multiple dimensions along the front face 104of the configurable oven rack system 100, which may include a pluralityof columns and/or rows of oven slots 110. The configurable oven racktern 100 may have wheels or casters 112 to assist in easily moving andmaneuvering the configurable oven rack system 100.

The wheels or casters 112 also enable the configurable oven rack system100 to be easily loaded into the cargo area 300 of the vehicle 200 fromthe ground adjacent the vehicle 200 and as well as easily unloaded fromthe cargo area 300 of the vehicle 200 onto the ground adjacent thevehicle 200. In some implementations, the vehicle 200 includes anextendable and retractable ramp that the configurable oven rack system100 may use for loading or unloading purposes by rolling theconfigurable oven rack system 100 on wheels or casters 2. Additionallyor alternatively, in some implementations, the vehicle 200 may include aloading ledge that may be elevated and lowered to assist with loadingand unloading the configurable oven rack system 100 from the vehicle200. Specifically, the configurable oven rack system 100 may be rolledon its wheels or casters 112 from the ground adjacent the vehicle 200onto the loading ledge when the loading ledge is in its loweredposition. The loading ledge may then be elevated up to its raisedposition, which is the level of the bed of the vehicle 200. Theconfigurable oven rack system 100 may be rolled on its wheels or casters112 onto the bed of the vehicle 200. The same process may be carried outin reverse to upload the configurable oven rack system 100 from the bedof the vehicle 200 onto the ground adjacent the vehicle 200,

In some implementations, the configurable oven rack system 100 includessecurement points at each oven slot 110 that detachably affix a loadableoven 102 in an oven slot 110 of the configurable oven rack system 100.In another aspect, each oven slot 110 in the configurable oven racksystem 100 includes an associated ejection switch that at leastpartially ejects a loadable oven 102 from an associated oven slot 110 ofthe configurable oven rack system when the associated ejection switch isactivated. In still another aspect, the configurable oven rack system100 includes an extraction handle associated with each loadable oven.The extraction handles may be used to assist in removing a loadable oven102 from an oven slot 110 of the configurable oven rack system 100 whenactuated.

In yet another aspect of the configurable oven rack system 100, toolsare required in order to remove a loadable oven 102 from an associatedoven slot 110 of the configurable oven rack system 100. In someembodiments, the tools required to remove a loadable oven 102 from anassociated oven slot 110 are conventional tools such as screw drivers,wrenches, bolt extractor sockets, and the like. In other embodiments,the tools required to remove a loadable oven 102 from an associated ovenslot 110 are specialized fastener extraction tools that are shaped andsized to correspond with specialized fasteners. Such embodiments assistin preventing the unauthorized removal of a loadable oven 102 from anassociated oven slot 110, since unauthorized personnel are unlikely tohave access to the specialized fastener extraction tools.

Referring now to FIGS. 1B and 1C, in some implementations, the array ofoven slots 110 contained in the configurable oven rack system 100 areconstructed to translate or rotate within the configurable oven racksystem. As shown in FIG. 1B, the configurable oven rack system 100includes a multi-directional conveyor system 111. In someimplementations, the multi-directional conveyor system 111 enables thearray of oven slots 110 contained in the configurable oven rack systemto move (i.e., translate) in a vertical direction so each oven slot 110(as well as any loadable oven 102 inserted therein) moves up and downwithin the configurable oven rack system. Alternatively or additionally,in some implementations, the multi-directional conveyor system 111enables the array of oven slots 110 contained in the configurable ovenrack system to move (i.e., translate) in a horizontal direction so eachoven slot 110 (as well as any loadable oven 102 inserted therein) movesside 108 to side 108 within the configurable oven rack system. In someimplementations of the configurable oven rack system 100 that are two ormore oven-dimensions deep between the front face 104 and the back face106, the multi-directional conveyor system 111 enables the oven slots110 to move (i.e., translate) in a horizontal direction frontward(towards the front face 104) and backward (towards the back face 106)within the configurable oven rack system. In some implementations of theconfigurable oven rack system 100, the multi-directional conveyor system111 enables the array of oven slots 110 to move in more than one axialdirection, thus enabling the array of oven slots 110 to move in alooping configuration within the configurable oven rack system as shownin FIG. 1B.

In an implementation shown in FIG. 1C, the configurable oven rack system100 includes a rotating conveyor system 113 in which the oven slots 110(as well as any loadable oven 102 inserted therein) rotate within theconfigurable oven rack system about a central axis. In one aspect of theconfigurable oven rack system 100, the rotating conveyor system 113enables the plurality of oven slots 110 to rotate in a clock-wisedirection about the central axis, to rotate in a counter clock-wisedirection about the central axis, or to alternate between rotating in aclock-wise direction and then rotating in a counter clock-wisedirection. In still another implementation (not shown), the configurableoven rack system 100 includes both a vertical conveyor system 111 and arotating conveyor system 113 for moving the oven slot 110 (as well asany loadable oven 102 inserted therein). In such art implementation, anoven slot 110 may be moved vertically in the configurable oven racksystem vertical conveyor system 111 until the oven slot is on ahorizontal plane within the rotating conveyor system 113. At that point,the rotating conveyor system may then rotate the oven slot 110 (as wellas any loadable oven 102 inserted therein) in a clock-wise direction orin a counter clock-wise direction within the configurable oven racksystem.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, in some implementations, the configurableoven rack system 100 includes one or more heat-resistant cameras used toconfirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot. In another aspect ofthe configurable oven rack system 100, either the same or differentheat-resistant cameras are used to determine a position of an oven door.In still another aspect of the configurable oven rack system 100, eitherthe same or different heat-resistant cameras are used to determine orconfirm whether an oven is loaded with a food item and/or the positionof the food item.

In other implementations, the configurable oven rack system 100 includesone or more heat-resistant proximity sensors used to confirm whether anoven is loaded in an oven slot. In another aspect of the configurableoven rack system 100, either the same or different heat-resistantproximity sensors are used determine a position of an oven door. Instill another aspect of the configurable oven rack system 100, eitherthe sane or different heat-resistant proximity sensors are used todetermine or confirm whether an oven is loaded with a food item and/orthe position of the food item.

In yet other implementations, the configurable oven rack system 100 isactually a combination refrigeration/oven rack system. In this regard,the array of oven slots 110 are actually an array of refrigerationunit/oven slots 110. In such an implementation, the array ofrefrigeration unit slots 110 are also constructed to receivecorrespondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units, which are loadablein the refrigeration unit slots 110 instead of the loadable ovens 102.In this manner, the refrigeration units are shaped and dimensioned in asimilar configuration as the loadable ovens 102. In suchimplementations, the loadable refrigeration units inserted into therefrigeration unit slots 110 are also associated with the electricaltemperature controller system and the individual indicator or displaypanel 120.

In another implementation of the configurable oven rack system 100 thatcomprises a combination refrigeration/oven rack system, the array ofrefrigeration unit/oven slots 110 are constructed to receive loadablerefrigeration/oven units 102 that are correspondingly shaped and sized.Such a loadable refrigeration/oven unit 102 is able to cool, warm, andcook in response to commands from the system (e.g., start cook mode,start cool mode, start warm mode, and the like). In one exampleimplementation, a loadable refrigeration/oven unit 102 contains a fooditem which is cooled by the loadable refrigeration/oven unit 102 untilan order is received from a customer for that food item. The loadablerefrigeration/oven unit 102 then cooks the food item upon receipt of theorder from the customer for that food item.

Alternatively, the loadable refrigeration/oven unit 102 may wait tocommence cooking the food item depending on the expected time of arrivalof the customer, so that, the food item finishes cooking at the sametime (or approximately the same time) as the arrival of the customer. Inthis manner, the system may account for transit time of the customer tothe combination refrigeration/oven rack system (whether the system islocated in a kiosk or a vehicle), as well as traffic conditions alongthe transit route. In some implementations, the system tracks thecustomer along its route to the combination refrigeration/oven racksystem using a GPS signal from the customer's mobile phone or vehicle.In other implementations, the system employs artificial intelligenceand/or machine learning to predict the length of time it will take thecustomer to arrive at the combination refrigeration/oven rack systemusing parameters that include, by way of example only, and not by way oflimitation, time of day, weather conditions, day of the week,construction events, local traffic inducing events, and the like. Thisenables the loadable refrigeration/oven unit 102 to maintain optimumfreshness of the cooked food item.

In some implementations, if the customer that ordered the food item islate arriving at the location of the combination refrigeration/oven racksystem, the loadable refrigeration/oven unit 102 may automaticallyswitch from cook mode to warm mode. In another implementation of thecombination refrigeration/oven rack system, if the food item is too hotto be handled at the completion of the cooking cycle, the loadablerefrigeration/oven unit 102 may temporarily switch from cooking mode tocool mode to bring the cooked food item to an appropriate temperature.In still another implementation, the combination refrigeration/oven racksystem may pre-cook the food item in the loadable refrigeration/ovenunit 102 and then keep the food item warm until the arrival of acustomer that ordered this food item.

In'some implementations of the configurable oven rack system 100 thatcomprise a combination refrigeration/oven rack system, the loadablerefrigeration/oven units 102 are capable of only cooling and warming offood items. In other implementations of the configurable oven racksystem 100 that comprise a combination refrigeration/oven rack system,the loadable refrigeration/oven units 102 are capable of cooling,warming, and cooking food items. In some implementations, the loadablerefrigeration/oven units 102 employ heat exchangers to perform theheating and cooling of the food items. In other implementations, theloadable refrigeration/oven units 102 employ separate heating andcooling coils to perform the heating and cooling of the food items. Inat least one implementation, electrical current is used to power theheating and cooling coils to perform the heating and cooling of the fooditems. For example, the loadable refrigeration/oven units 102 mayinclude one or more Peltier, thermoelectric heater/coolers. In someimplementations, the loadable refrigeration/oven units 102 may include athermally insulative barrier, preferably a Yttrium, Indium, Manganese,and Oxygen (YInMn) barrier. In other implementations, liquid coolant isused to perform the cooling of the food items.

In another aspect of some implementations, the configurable oven racksystem 100 monitors the time frame between when food items leave arefrigerated status in a refrigeration unit and when the food itemsbegin a cooking cycle in a loadable oven 102. In some implementations,the food items are discarded if the monitored time frame exceeds apredetermined time period for that particular food item. In stillanother aspect of some implementations, the determination of whetherfood items are discarded also includes monitoring the ambienttemperature of the surrounding, and calculating the effect of theambient temperature as well as the time frame between when food itemsleave a refrigerated status in a refrigeration unit and when the fooditems begin a cooking cycle in a loadable oven 102.

Each of the loadable ovens 102 may include a housing disposed at leastpartially about an interior of an oven compartment 114 formed by one ormore surfaces. Food items are cooked under defined cooking conditionswithin the interior of the oven compartment 114. A hinged or otherwisedisplaceable door 116 is used to isolate the interior of the ovencompartment 114 from the external environment. In at least someinstances, the door 116 may be mechanically or electro-mechanically heldclosed while the cooking process is underway. The oven 102 may includeone or more heat sources or heat elements 126 that are used to provideheat to the interior cavity. In addition to the heating element 126,additional elements such as convection fan(s), humidifiers, gas burnersor similar items (not shown for clarity) may be installed in place of oralong with the heating element 126 in the cooking unit. The ovens 102may optionally include a stone floor or cast iron floor. In someimplementations, the ovens 102 include electrically radiant elements. Insome implementations, the ovens 102 take the form of air impingementovens, including one or more blowers that blow extremely hot air, andoptionally a rack with a manifold.

In another aspect of some implementations, at least some loadable ovens102 of the configurable oven rack system 100 contain upper heatingelements 126 a that have a different shape than the lower heatingelements 126 b. For example, in one implementation shown in FIG. 1D, theupper heating elements 126 a of the loadable oven 102 are configured ina circular spiral pattern and the lower heating elements 126 b of theloadable oven 102 are configured in as a series of zig-zagging elements.Other configurations for the upper heating elements 126 a anddivergently shaped lower heating elements 126 b include longitudinalheating elements, traverse heating elements, grid-shaped heatingelements, cross-hatch shaped heating elements, radial extending heatingelements, concentric-circular shaped heating elements, volute-shapedheating elements, and the like. FIGS. 1E-1J show various implementationsof upper heating elements 126 a and lower heating elements 126 b thatare shaped in different configurations.

The motivation for having some loadable ovens 102 of the configurableoven rack system 100 contain upper heating elements 126 a that have adifferent shape than the lower heating elements 126 b is to achieve thegoal of evenly cooking the food items in the loadable ovens 102. Sincemany food items have different cooking characteristics on the uppersurface of the food items in comparison to the lower surface of the fooditems, having different shaped upper heating elements 126 a from lowerheating elements 126 b enables heating elements 126 to be more preciselymatched with food surface cooking characteristics. In this manner, auser is not limited to having one of the upper heating elements 126 a orlower heating elements 126 b match the cooking characteristics of theadjacent food item surface, while the other of the upper heatingelements 126 a or lower heating elements 126 b does not match thecooking characteristics of the adjacent food item surface.

In some implementations, the upper heating elements 126 a may beexchangeable with different shaped upper heating elements 126 a for fooditems with different cooking characteristics, as needed. In otherimplementations, the heating elements 126 b may be exchangeable withdifferent shaped lower heating elements 126 b for food items withdifferent cooking characteristics, as needed. In still otherimplementations, the upper heating elements 126 a may be exchangeablewith different shaped lower heating elements 126 b for food withdifferent cooking characteristics, as needed. In yet otherimplementations, the upper heating elements 126 a and/or the lowerheating elements 126 b may be able to modify their shape for food itemswith different cooking characteristics, without removing or exchangingthe heating elements. For example, individual elements of the upperheating elements 126 a and/or the lower heating elements 126 b may bemovable or bendable to change the cooking characteristics of the heatingelements

Each of the loadable ovens 102 contains a support structure 103 uponwhich the food items are placed during the cooking process. The supportstructure 103 includes elements that may be configured as a grate,grill, screen, grid as cross-hatched, and the like. FIG. 1K shows animplementation of support structure 103 that contain elements which arealigned in a cross-hatched configuration to minimize contact surfacearea with the food items during the cooking process. Additionally, thedifferent configurations shown FIGS. 1E-1J (with respect to heatingelements) may also be implemented for various support structures 103that contain elements which are aligned in different configurations, allof which strive to minimize contact surface area with the food itemsduring the cooking process. Notably, the support structure 103 for thefood items, unlike many pizza ovens, is not a planar surface. Instead,the support structure 103 of each loadable oven 102 is configured tohave a minimum surface area in contact with the food items. Accordingly,different food items may allow for different minimum surface areas ofthe support structure 103 in contact with the food items. In thismanner, rigid food items may allow for more widely spaced elements ofthe support structure 103, and, thus, a support structure 103 with alower surface area. In contrast, pliable or droopy food items mayrequire more narrowly spaced elements of the support structure 103, and,thus, a support structure 103 with a slightly higher surface area.Accordingly, in some implementations, the support structure 103 for morerigid food items may be exchangeable with support structure 1f 3 formore pliable or droopy food items, as needed.

By minimizing the surface area of the support structure 103 in aloadable oven 102, several technological improvements may be achieved.For example, minimizing the surface area of the support structure 103assists in preventing sticking of the food items to the supportstructure 103. Additionally, minimizing the surface area of the supportstructure 103 assists in allowing grease to pass from the bottom of thefood items through the support structure 103. Furthermore minimizing thesurface area of the support structure 103 assists in allowing moistureto pass from the bottom of the food items through the support structure103. Moreover, minimizing the surface area of the support structure 103assists in allowing air flow underneath the food items on the supportstructure 103, which results in an enhanced final cooked product.

In other implementation, the floor of the oven includes stones, bricks,cast iron components, or other materials that absorb and maintain heat.For example, stone flooring may be used to produce high and consistentheat levels in the loadable ovens 102, resulting in efficient andconsistent cooking. Additionally, cooking with brick or stone flooringmay produce an improved crust in some food items. Furthermore, cookingwith brick or stone flooring may impart a unique and desirable favor topizzas or other food items.

In still other implementations, the configurable oven rack system 100employs impingement oven technology that uses manifolds, jet nozzles, orfans that precisely direct forced hot air to surround the food itembeing cooked. The impingement system moves air at a high speed by thefood item being cooked and breaks through any cooler thermal boundariesof the food item. Such use of impingement technology in the configurableoven rack system 100 increases the heating efficiency of the system andshortens the length of the cook time in the loadable ovens 102.

In yet other implementations, the inside of the loadable ovens 102 inthe configurable oven rack system 100 are covered with “YInMn Blue,”which is a durable blue pigment, called “YInMn” because of itscomposition from the elements Yttrium, Indium, Manganese, and Oxygen.YInMn Blue is a heat-reflecting, thermally stable, and UV-absorbingpigment. Additionally, YInMn Blue is suitable for energy-saving coolcoatings. Notably, YInMn Blue has an infrared reflectivity of about 40percent, which is significantly higher than other blue pigments.

In some implementations, the interior of the compartment 114 of the oven102 may include a bottom face oriented in a downward direction towardsthe back face 106 of the configurable oven rack system 100. Such anorientation may assist in keeping a food item in place within theinterior of the oven compartment 114. In some implementations, theinterior of the oven compartment 114 may include an extension, arm orpusher (not shown) to push the food item out of the interior cavity,such as, for example when the cooking time for the food item iscomplete. In some implementations, the interior of the oven compartment114 may include a conveyor that may be used to assist in loading and/orunloading a food item.

As described above, the configurable oven rack system 100 may includeone or more indicators or display panel 120 that are each associatedwith an electrical temperature controller system for an individual oven102. The one or more indicators or display panel 120 provide informationabout, and/or the cook status of, the food item in an oven 102. In someimplementations, each oven 102 may be associated with an individualindicator or display panel 120. In some instances the display panel 120may include a text display that provides information such as the type offood item in the oven 102; the consumer name and/or location informationassociated with the food item in the oven 102; the cook status of thefood item in the oven 102 (e.g., “DONE,” “COMPLETE,” “2 MIN REMAINING”):or combinations thereof. In other instances, the display panel 120 mayinclude one or more indicators that provide the cook status of the fooditem in the cooking unit (e.g., color: GREEN=“DONE”; YELLOW=“<5 MINREMAINING”; RED=“>5 MIN REMAINING”; flash sequence or pattern). The dataprovided to the display panel 120 may be provided by the on-boardcontrol system 312 (see FIG. 3). In at least some instances, the displaypanel 120 includes a controller capable of independently controlling thecooking conditions within the respective oven 102. In such instances,information indicative of the cooking conditions for the oven 102 may beprovided to the display panel 120.

One or more electrical interfaces may be disposed in on, or about eachof the ovens 102 in the configurable oven rack system 100. The powerinterfaces are used to provide at least a portion of the power to theheating elements 126 of the ovens 102 from the oven slots 110 of theconfigurable oven rack system 100 via a common electrical powerdistribution bus. In some implementations, the oven electrical interface130 for each loadable oven 102 is at the rear end of the oven, oppositethe loading door 116, so the oven electrical interface 128 for eachloadable oven 102 engages with a slot electrical interface 130 in anoven slot 110 of the oven rack mounting system 100 when an loadable oven102 is loaded into an oven slot. In some implementations, the commonelectrical power distribution bus of the oven rack system 100 includesan external electrical interface 132 that provides power to the ovenrack system from a power outlet 324 (see FIG. 5) that external to theoven rack system.

In some implementations of the configurable oven rack system 100, theovens 102 may include one or ore relays 118 between the power suppliesand the ovens 102. The relays 116 may be operable to selectively providepower to one oven 102 or to a set of ovens 102. Such relays 118 may beset in an OFF position when an oven 102 is not in use to therebyconserve energy. In some implementations, the power provided to theovens 102 may be in the form combustible gas (e.g., hydrogen, propane,compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas) supplied from acombustible gas reservoir. In some instances, two or more powerinterfaces may be installed, for example one electrical power interfacesupplying power to the display panel 120 and a convection fan, and onecombustible gas power interface supplying energy to the heating element(e.g., radiant element, gas jet, inductor) may be included on the oven102.

One or more power distribution devices may be located in eachconfigurable oven rack system 100 such that the corresponding cookingunit power interface is physically and/or electrically coupled to theappropriate power distribution device when the oven 102 is placed in theconfigurable oven rack system 100. The power distribution devices mayinclude an electrical bus for distributing electrical power to some orall of the ovens 102 inserted into the configurable oven rack system100. The power distribution devices may include a gas distributionheader or manifold for distributing a combustible gas to some or all ofthe cooking units inserted into the configurable oven rack system 100.In at least some instances the power distribution device may include ormore quick connect or similar devices to physically and/or electricallycouple the power distribution devices to the appropriate powerdistribution system (e.g., electrical, combustible gas, or other).

One or more wired or wireless communications buses may be located ineach slot 110 in the configurable oven rack system 100 such that thecorresponding oven 102 is communicably coupled to the communications buswhen the oven 102 is placed in the oven slot 110. In at least someinstances, the communications buses may be wiredly or wirelesslycommunicably coupled to the on-board control system (see FIG. 3).

The configurable oven rack system 100 includes an array of oven slots110 that may accommodate the insertion of any number of ovens 102 up tothe number of oven slots 110. The cooking conditions within each of theovens 102 inserted into an oven slot 110 in the oven rack 100 may beindividually adjusted to control the completion time of the particularfood item within the oven 102. In some implementations, the cookingconditions may depend on and/or be adjusted based on the type of fooditem being cooked. For example, in so implementations, each oven 102 maybe programmable to cook food items containing a large number of wetingredients and/or food items containing a large number of dryingredients. Although the configurable oven rack system 100 mayaccommodate the insertion of multiple ovens 102 into various oven slots110 the oven slots 110 of the oven rack 100 need not be completelyfilled with ovens 102 during operation in order for the configurableoven rack system to properly perform. Otherwise stated, each individualoven slot 110 in the configurable oven rack system 100 provideselectricity and control signals individually to an inserted oven 102,regardless of whether or not other oven lots 110 in the configurableoven rack system contain an inserted oven 102.

Referring now to FIG. 2, another implementation of a configurable ovenrack system is depicted that includes one or more columns ofelectrically interconnected oven rack slots 166. In such animplementation each electrically interconnected oven rack slot 166 isshaped and dimensioned to receive a loadable oven 102 that may be loadedinto the configurable oven rack system 150. In at least oneimplementation, the columns of oven rack slots 166 are collocatedvertically with insulation (not shown) between the oven rack slots.

The configurable oven rack system 50 may include a front face 152, aback face 154 a top face 156, and one or ore side walls 158. The sidewall may include a length 160, a width 162, and a height 164. The width162 of the configurable oven rack system 150 may be sized anddimensioned to be longer than the expected width and/or length of thefood item to be stored within the configurable oven rack system 150. Theconfigurable oven rack system 150 may include one or shore wheels orcasters 112, to enable the configurable oven rack system 150 to beeasily moveable The configurable oven race system 150 may include one ormore handles 122 to assist in maneuvering the configurable oven racksystem 150. In some implementations, the one or more handles 122 may becontained within a recessed area 124 such that the handle 122 does notprotrude above a plane formed by the side wall of the configurable ovenrack system 150.

The configurable oven rack system 150 may include a plurality of ovenrack slots 166 that may each receive a loadable oven 102. The loadableovens 102 may in turn receive a food item. Each oven rack slot 166 maybe sized and dimensioned to receive a loadable oven 102 within aninterior cavity 168. In some implementations, one ore controllers 170may be included on a configurable oven rack system 150. In otherimplementations, one or more controllers may, be external to theconfigurable oven rack system 150.

In one such implementation, every oven rack slot 166 in a stacked columnis associated with a single electrical temperature controller system. Insome implementations, an individual indicator or display panel 120 maydisplay information related to multiple oven rack slots 166 and anyovens 102 mounted in the oven rack slots 166. In another suchimplementations, multiple oven rack slots 166 in a stacked column (butnot every oven rack slots 166 in the stacked column) are associated witha single electrical temperature controller system. In at least oneimplementation of the configurable oven rack system, each column of ovenrack slots 166 includes ten oven rack slots, each slot for receiving aloadable oven 102. In this implementation, each loadable oven 102 hasits own loading door 116, and each oven has its own heating elements126.

The configurable oven rack system 150 may be communicatively coupled tothe on-board control system 312 (see FIG. 3) via a communication port.One or more communications interfaces (not shown) may be disposed in,on, or about each of the loadable ovens 102. The communicationsinterface is used to bi-directionally communicate at least dataindicative of the cooking conditions existing within the respectiveloadable ovens 102. The communications interface may include a wirelesscommunications interface, a wired communications interface, or anycombination thereof. Some or all of the power to operate thecommunications interface may be provided by the power, distributionsystem. In at least some instances, the communications interface, mayprovide bidirectional wired or wireless communication with the on-boardcontrol system 312. Instructions including data indicative of thecooking conditions within the cooking unit may be communicated to thedisplay via the communications interfaces. In at least someimplementations such instructions may include one or more cookingparameters (e.g., oven temperature=425° F, air flow=HIGH, humidity=65%,pressure=1 ATM) and/or one or more system parameters (e.g., set flamesize=LOW) associated with completing or finishing the cooking of thefood item in the respective oven 102 based on an estimated time ofarrival at the consumer destination location. Such cooking parametersmay be determined at least in part by the on-board control system 312based on an estimated time of cooking completion.

In another aspect of a configurable oven rack system 150, each instantoven 102 has associated sensors surrounding the instant oven that senseheat coming from the adjacent ovens and modify the heating profile inthe instant oven appropriately. In this regard, the instant oven 102 maynot require as much electrical power to reach a certain cookingtemperature because the instant oven is being partially heated byadjacent ovens surrounding the instant oven. However, if the ovenadjacent to the left of the instant oven 102 is at peak cookingtemperature and the oven adjacent to the right of the instant oven offor at a lower pre-heating temperature, an unbalanced ambient temperatureenvironment may be produced. In at least one implementation of theconfigurable oven rack system 150, the instant oven 102 senses the heatgradient from the unbalanced ambient temperature environment andproportionally heats the instant oven 102 as necessary in view of theunbalanced ambient temperature from the adjacent ovens. In anotherimplementation of a configurable oven rack system 150, the cookingprofile for food items may be adjusted if food items are being loadedfrom cold storage in a refrigeration unit, when the cold storagetemperature fluctuates.

Notably, the heating elements 126 of each oven may include manysubdivisions that may be individually heated to different temperaturesso only the necessary heating of the instant oven 102 is performed inview of the ambient heat from the adjacent ovens. In this regard, theindividual heating of different subdivisions of the instant oven 102 maybe performed to prevent overheating and potential burning of pizza orother food items in view of the ambient heat from the adjacent ovens.This type of asymmetrical heating by the heating elements 126 may alsobe used to increase efficiency in an unbalanced ambient temperatureenvironment due to adjacent ovens.

Referring now to FIG. 3, another implementation of a configurable ovenrack system for a food delivery vehicle is shown that includes an arrayof oven rack slots 166. In at least one implementation, multiple ovens102 are shaped and dimensioned to be insertable into the array of ovenrack slots 166 rack mounting system 100, similar to blade server slotsin a computer blade server rack. In this configuration, the ovenelectrical interface for each loadable oven is at the rear end of theoven, opposite of the loading door, so the oven electrical interface foreach loadable oven 102 engages with a slot electrical interface in anoven rack slot 166 of the oven rack mounting system 100 when a loadableoven 102 is loaded into an oven rack slot.

The cooking conditions within each of the ovens 102 may be established,controlled, or adjusted based at least in part on the available cookingtime. The instructions to establish, control, or adjust the cookingconditions may be received from the on-board control system 312. Suchcooking conditions may be determined by one or more applicationsexecuted by the on-board control system and/or the off-board controlsystem such that food items are advantageously delivered to the consumerdestination location shortly after cooking has completed. In at leastsome instances real-time updating, for example to reflect trafficconditions between the current location of the vehicle 200 and thedestination (e.g., delivery destination) may cause the manifest ordelivery itinerary to be autonomously dynamically updated. Cookingconditions in each of the ovens 102 may be adjusted throughout thedelivery process to reflect the newly estimated times of arrival usingthe dynamically updated manifest or delivery itinerary. In someimplementations, the on-board control system and/or the off-boardcontrol system may control when to begin cooking a food item based, forexample, upon an optimization of delivery time and/or labor fordelivering food items for a plurality of received orders.

In at least one implementation of a configurable oven rack system 150,each loadable oven 102 may be kept constantly ON (i.e., heated) betweenmultiple cooking cycles. In another implementation, loadable oven 102may be pre-heated on demand. In some implementations, the loadable ovens102 in the array of multiple oven rack slots 166 are maintained at theirpeak cooking temperature. In other embodiments,the loadable ovens 102 inthe array of multiple oven rack slots 166 are maintained at a lowerpre-heat temperature that may be quickly raised to peak cookingtemperature when a pizza (or other food item) is ready to be loaded. Inthis manner, pizzas (or other food items) are always loaded intopre-heated ovens 102 within the array of multiple oven rack, slots 166,not into cold ovens. Such an implementation may be useful, for example,so food items, such as bread or bread-based items, are not cooked withinan oven 102 during a cold start. Notably, cooking bread from an oven 102that starts out cold is undesirable for the quality of the finalproduct. Thus, always maintaining the ovens 102 in the array of multipleconnected ovens at a pre-heated temperature or peak cooking temperatureprovides a quicker cooking period and a better quality outcome product.

In another aspect of the configurable oven rack system 150, the cookingprofiles of the loadable ovens 102 in the array of multiple oven rackslots 166 are adjusted based on starting oven temperature or recentthroughput of food items. In this regard, cooking more food items willreduce the heat of the ovens 102 to some degree, depending on the sizeof the oven, the size of the food items, the size and efficiency ofheating element, and the like.

In some implementations, the displaceable door 116 may be locked foreach oven 102 that is in use to cook or otherwise prepare a food item.Such a locked oven 102 may not be opened by a human operator during acooking process. In such an implementation of the configurable oven racksystem, the displaceable doors 116 of the ovens 102 remain locked innormal operation and are only operable when engaged by a transfer robot354. In this implementation, the oven doors 116 of the loadable ovens102 in the array of multiple oven rack slots 166 may not be opened byhumans. In such an implementation, the transfer robot 354 performsautomatic loading and unloading of the food items from the ovens 102. Insome implementations, the transfer robot 354 unlocks a loadable ovenusing a robotic-based electrical key, a robotic-based mechanical key, arobotic-based transmission signal, a robotic-based actuation gripper, orcombinations thereof. The locked nature of the ovens 102 in combinationwith the automatic loading and unloading of the food items from theovens by the transfer robot 354 prevents accidents and injuries fromoccurring to cooking personnel. In at least some implementations, theoven 102 may provide an emergency override to the operator to provideaccess to the interior of the compartment 114 of the oven 102 during anemergency, such as, for example, should a fire erupt in one of the ovencompartments 114.

In another implementation, loadable ovens 102 in the array of multipleoven rack slots 166 may not be inserted into or removed from the ovenrack slots 166 by humans. In such an implementation, the transfer robot354 performs automatic inserting and removing of the loadable ovens 102from the oven rack slots 166. The automatic inserting and removing ofthe loadable ovens 102 from the oven rack slots 166 by the transferrobot 354 prevents accidents and injuries from occurring to cookingpersonnel. In some implementations, the transfer robot 354 enables aloadable oven to be inserted into an oven slots using a robotic-basedelectrical key, a robotic-based mechanical key, a robotic-basedtransmission signal, a robotic-based actuation gripper, or combinationsthereof. In at least some implementations, the oven rack slots 166 mayprovide an emergency override to the operator to enable 14 a loadableoven 102 to be removed from oven rack slot 166 during an emergency, suchas, for example, a fire.

The transfer robot 354 may be used to selectively transfer food itemsinto and out of the ovens 102. The transfer robot 354 may becommunicatively coupled to the on-board control system 312, which mayprovide instructions to control the movement of the transfer robot 354.The transfer robot 354 may include one or more arms 362 and an end tool364 as an end effector or end of arm tool. One or more actuators 356 maybe used to linearly or rotationally move the one or more arms 362 of thetransfer robot 354 with respect to the cargo area 300 in response tosignals received from the on-board control system 312. The one or moreactuators 356 of the transfer robot 354 may be operable to move the endtool 364 with 6 degrees of freedom with respect to the interior sidewalls 306, as illustrated, for example, by a coordinate system. Forexample, the transfer robot 354 may have an articulating arm 362 withpivot joints, ball joints, or combinations thereof. In this manner, therobotic pizza picker is able to load and unload pizzas or other fooditems from ovens in the array of multiple connected ovens.

In some implementations, the end tool 364 may include a finger extension366 sized and shaped to approximate the dimensions of a human finger.The finger extension 366 may be used to engage with the handle 350 onthe door 116 of each oven 102 to thereby open or close the door 116 asnecessary to transfer food items into and out of the compartment 114 ofthe oven 102. For example, to open the door 116 to an oven 102, thetransfer robot 354 may position the end tool 364 proximate the door 116of the oven 102 such that the finger extension 366 engages with the topside of the handle 360 to the door 116. The transfer robot 354 may movethe finger extension 366 in a downward direction to apply a downwardforce to the handle 360 to cause the door 116 to rotate downward into anopen position. To close the door 116 to the oven 102, the transfer robot354 may move the finger extension 366 to engage with the handle 360and/or the downward oriented face of the door 116. The transfer robot354 may move the finger extension 366 in an upward direction to causethe door to rotate upward into a closed position.

The transfer robot 354 may move the end tool 384 to transfer a fooditem, such as a pizza, into the compartment 114 of the oven 102 forbaking. In me implementations, such as those involving pizzas, the endtool 364 may include a pizza peel sized and dimensioned to enter intoeach of the compartments 114 of the ovens 102 contained within the rack100. To place a pizza into an oven compartment 114 for baking, thetransfer robot 3 may load the pizza to be baked onto the pizza peelportion of the end tool 364, open the door 116 of the appropriate oven102 with the finger extension 366 as described above, and then place thepizza peel portion of the end tool 364 into the oven compartment 114.The transfer robot 354 may tilt the pizza peel portion of the end tool364 to be at an angle directed downwards towards the back portion of theoven compartment 114 to cause the pizza to slide off of the pizza peel.The end tool 364 ray include a camera 368 or some other sensor that maybe used to confirm that the pizza, or other food item, has beendeposited into the oven compartment 114. The end tool 364 may then movethe pizza peel portion of the end tool 364 out of the oven compartment114 and use the finger extension 366 to close the door 116 to the oven102.

In some implementations, the oven 102 may include a bar 379, positionedat a rear in the interior of the oven, and one or more sensors that isor are, responsive to contact with the bar 379 by an item of food or afront of the end tool 364. The sensor(s) may take any of a large varietyof types, for example a contact sensor or an electric eye. Such canallow time for the transfer robot 354 to place the food item (e.g.,pizza) and sense contact, which timing may be variable due to slippage.The transfer robot 354 may place the food item into the oven, forexample by positioning the end tool 364 with respect to the oven 102,and operating a conveyor of the end tool 364 to move the food item in afirst direction (i.e., toward a rear of the oven 102) into contact withthe bar 379. In response to contact with the bar 379, the conveyor mayautomatically move the food item in a second direction (i.e., away fromthe rear of the oven 102), opposite the first direction, for example asufficient distance where the rear of the oven and/or bar 379 will notinterfere with the cooking of the food item (e.g., pizza).

The transfer robot 354 may move the end tool 364 to transfer a fooditem, such as a fully baked pizza, out of the oven compartment 114 ofthe oven 102. To retrieve a pizza from the compartment 114, the transferrobot 354 may open the door 116 of the appropriate oven 102 with thefinger extension 366 as described above, and then maneuver the pizzapeel portion of the end tool 364 into the oven compartment 114underneath the pizza or food item that was being cooked within the ovencompartment 114. For example, the transfer robot 354 may slide the pizzapeel portion of the end tool 364 into the oven compartment 114 proximatethe bottom surface of the oven compartment 114, angled slightly downwardtoward a back of the oven compartment, to cause the pizza to slide ontothe pizza peel. The end tool 364 may include a camera 368 or some othersensor that may be used to confirm the pizza, or other food item, hasbeen slid onto the pizza peel, and, or is properly cooked. The end tool364 may then move the pizza peel portion of the end tool 364, along withthe retrieved pizza or food item, out of the oven compartment 114, anduse the finger extension 368 to close the door 116 to the oven 102. Inimplementations, the pizza peel portion of the transfer robot 354 mayinclude a conveyor that may be used to deposit a food item into and/orretrieve a food item from the interior of the oven compartment 114.

In at least some implementations, one or more weight sensors (e.g.,strain gauge, load cell) 380 may be to sense the weight of an item. For,ore weight sensors may be positioned in an oven to sense a weight of anitem in the oven, the weight changing as the item cooks. Alternativelyor additionally,one or more weight sensors may be positioned to sense acombined weight of the oven, or at least a portion thereof, and a weightof an item in the oven. Alternatively or additionally, one or moreweight sensors may be carried by the transfer robot 354 (e.g., pizzapeel portion) to sense a combined weight of a portion (e.g., pizza peelportion) of the transfer robot 354 and a weight of an item carried bythe portion of the transfer robot 354. The weight sensor may have anadjustable tare to allow the weight of the associated a structure (e.g.,oven 102, pizza peel portion) to be automatically subtracted, resultingin a signal that represents the weight of an item (e.g., dough withsauce and cheese, dough with sauce, cheese and one or more toppings).The sensed weight may be automatically, compared via a processor-baseddevice or analog circuit to a threshold or range of acceptable orexpected weights for the food item. In response to an out of toleranceor out of range condition, the structure may automatically move theitem, for example to a serving or boxing position, or back into the oven102 for additional cooking.

For example, one or more sensors or imagers (e.g., cameras) 382 may bepositioned with a field-of-view that encompasses an interior of theovens 102, or a field-of-view that encompasses an exit of the ovens 102or just downstream of the ovens 102. For example, one or more sensors orimagers e.g., cameras) 382 may have a field-of-view that encompasses atop of the food items, a bottom of the food items, and/or a side of thefood items either in the ovens 102 or at the exit of the ovens 102 oreven downstream of the ovens 102. One or more machine-vision systems maybe employed to determine whether the fully baked food items (e.g.,pizzas) are properly cooked based on images captured by the one or moresensors or imagers (e.g., cameras) 382. The machine-vision system mayoptionally employ machine-learning, being trained on a set of trainingdata, to recognize when the food is properly baked or fully cooked,based on captured images or image data. In some instances, this can becombined, with a weight sensor (e g., strain gauge, load cell) todetermine when the item of food is properly prepared, for exampledetermining when an item is fully cooked based at least in part one asensed weight, where the desired weight is dependent on sufficient waterhaving been evaporated or cooked off.

The machine-vision system may, for example, determine whether a top ofthe food item is a desired color or colors and, or consistency, forinstance determining whether there is too little, too much or anadequate or desired amount of bubbling of melted cheese, too little, toomuch or an adequate or desired amount of blackening or charring, toolittle, too much or an adequate or desired amount of curling of atopping (e.g., curling of pepperoni slices), too little, too much or anadequate or desired amount of shrinkage of a topping (e.g., vegetables).The machine-vision system may, for example, determine whether a bottomof the food item is a desired color or colors, for instance determiningwhether there is too little, too much or an adequate or desired amountof blackening or charring.

Additionally or alternatively, one or more electronic noses 384 may bedistributed at various points to detect scents which may be indicativeof a desired property of the food item or prepared food item. Forexample, one or more electronic noses can detect via scent when cheesebubbles and cast forms.

The ovens 102 (and hence cooking) and/or transfer robot 354 can beautomatically controlled based on any one or more of machine-visionbased determinations, weight determinations, and, or detected scentbased determinations, and some defined criteria or conditions.Additionally or alternatively, the ovens 10 can be automaticallycontrolled based on any one or machine-vision based determinations,weight determinations, and, or detected scent based determinations, andsome defined criteria or conditions. Additionally or alternatively, oneor more robotic appendages (e.g., mechanical, fingers, transfer robot354) or a turntable or other actuator can be automatically, controlledbased on any one or more of machine-vision based determinations, weightdeterminations, and, or detected scent based determinations, and>somedefined criteria or conditions, for example turning an item (e.g.,rotating a pizza to achieve even cooking or desired charring). Whileoften described in terms of, pizza, the structures and techniques can beapplied to other food items, o instance fried chicken or burritos.

The transfer robot 354 may be supported by a transfer robot platform 370movably coupled to and contained in a frame 372. The frame 372 mayinclude at least two vertical posts 374 a, 374 b extending from thefloor 302 to the ceiling 304 of the cargo area, and at least twohorizontal posts 376 a, 376 b extending from the rear wall 308 towardsthe opening for the loading door 218. One vertical post 374 a may belocated proximate the opening created by the loading door 218 and theother vertical post 374 b may be located proximate the rear wall 308.One horizontal post 376 a may be located proximate the ceiling 304, andthe other horizontal post 376 b may be located proximate the floor 302.The two vertical posts 374 a, 374 b and the two horizontal posts 376 a,376 b may form the exterior of the frame 372. The transfer robot 354 isoperable to move up and down along the vertical posts and move side toside along the horizontal posts.

In some implementations, the configurable oven rack system,100 may beloadable into the cargo area 300 of the vehicle 200 for dispatch todelivery destinations. As depicted and described, food items may becompletely or partially prepared at a central location and loaded intothe ovens 102, which may be placed in an oven rack slot 166 of theconfigurable oven rack system. The configurable oven rack system maycontain one or more columns of individual oven rack slots 166. While intransit to each of a number of consumer delivery locations, the cookingconditions within each of the ovens 102 may be controlled and adjustedby a control system to complete the cooking process shortly beforedelivery of the food item(s) to the consumer.

Although a configurable oven rack system with multiple oven rack slotsis shown in FIG. 3, such disclosure should not be considered limiting.Other cooking components may be loaded and secured into the cargo area300. Such cooking components may include, for example, a fryer, agriddle, a sandwich or tortilla press, and other like cookingcomponents. The cargo area 300 may include one or more robots performingfood preparation functions within the cargo area 300. The robots mayinclude, for example, the transfer robot 354, a dispensing robot, and acutter robot.

The configurable oven rack system 100 may be securely attached to one ormore anchor rails and/or retractable bolts spaced along the interiorside wall 306 and oriented such that the oven rack slots 166 and theloadable ovens 102 may be accessible from the cargo area 300. Theconfigurable oven rack system 100 may be coupled to one or more of poweroutlets, water ports, waste fluid ports, air ports, and/orcommunications ports located along the interior side wall 306. In someimplementations, the configurable oven rack system may be loaded intothe cargo area 300 with each oven rack slot 166 loaded with acorresponding loadable oven 102. In such an implementation, each oven102 loaded into an oven rack slot 166 in the configurable oven racksystem may further contain a food item to be completed. Each oven 102may include a handle 360 located along the door 116. In someimplementations, the handle 360 may be used to rotate or otherwisedisplace the door 116 to selectively expose or cover the opening to theinterior compartment 114 of the oven 102.

The configurable oven rack system 100 and each oven 102 within an, ovenrack slot 166 may be communicatively coupled to, the on-board controlsystem 312 via the one or more communication ports located along theinterior side wall 306. The on-board control system 312 may providecooking commands that control the heating elements 126 within each ofthe ovens 102. Such cooking commands may be generated according toprocessor-executable instructions executed by one or some combination ofthe on-board control system 312, the off-board control system, or someother remote computer system,

The frame 372 may include at least two interior vertical posts 378 a,378 b that couple with and support the transfer robot platform 370. Thetwo interior vertical posts 378 a, 378 b may extend between, and may bemovably coupled to, the two horizontal posts 376 a, 376 b. For example,in some implementations, one or both of the horizontal posts 376 a, 376b may include a set of tracks to which the two interior vertical posts374 a, 374 b are coupled. One or more motors or other actuators may beused to move the two interior vertical posts 378 a, 378 b along thelength 301 of the cargo area 300. In some implementations, the transferrobot platform 370 may be selectively, movably coupled to the twointerior vertical posts 378 a, 378 b using one or more motors or otheractuators that enable the transfer robot platform 370 to move up or downrelative to the height 305 of the cargo area 300. The control system 312may provide commands that control the length-wise movement of the twointerior vertical posts 378 a, 378 b, as well as provide commands thatcontrol the vertical movement of the transfer robot platform 370. Suchcommands may be used, for example, to position the transfer robot 354such that the end tool 364 may enter into each of the compartments 114for each of the ovens 102 contained with the cargo area 300.

In some implementations, a storage area may be provided that isrefrigerated to prolong the freshness of the additional food items. Thestorage area may be sized and dimensioned to enable the end tool 364 ofthe transfer robot 354 to retrieve the food items contained within thestorage area. The on-board control system 312 may provide one or morecommands to retrieve a food item from the storage area and to place thefood item into an appropriate oven 102. In some implementations, suchcommands may be provided when an oven 102 becomes available. In someimplementations, such commands may be provided according to a deliveryschedule and expected delivery time (e.g., estimated time of arrival ata destination, for instance a delivery destination) for the food itemretrieve from the storage area, in this situation, the on-board controlsystem 312 may provide commands to pre-heat the oven 102 (if it is notalready at peak heating temperature) to an appropriate temperature inadvance of the food item being retrieved from the storage area andplaced in the oven 102.

In some instances, the on-board control system 312 and/or the off-boardcontrol system 207 may track information related to the contents of eachoven 102 that has been loaded into the vehicle 200. For example,on-board control system 312 and/or an off-board control system may trackfor each oven 102 th type of food item (e.g., par-baked shell, pepperonipizza, and the like), the size of the food item, and/or the time thefood item was placed in the oven 102. Additionally, the on-board controlsystem 312 and/or the off-board control system 207 may track informationrelated to which oven rack slots 166 have been occupied with loadableovens 102 while loaded on the vehicle 200.

In some instances, the on-board control system 312 and/or an off-boardcontrol system may communicate with one or more other systems todetermine the overall time a food item has been placed in the oven 102including time before the oven 102 was loaded into the vehicle 200. Insome implementations, the on-board control system 312 may not load allof the ovens 102 with food items for preparation at any one time.Instead, the on-board control system 312 may keep at least some of theovens 102 (or some of the oven tack slots 166) empty to processon-demand orders. In some implementations, at least some of the ovens102 may be kept empty in order to process'and prepare food items thatare different, and have different cooking par meters, than food itemscurrently being prepared.

The on-board control system 312 and/or an off-board control system mayset a time limit for keeping each food item within the oven 102. If thetime limit expires for one of the food items, the on-board controlsystem 312 and/or an off-board control system may alert the operator orcustomer to discard the food item. The on-board control system 312and/or an off-board control system may require that the user provide aninput to confirm that the identified food item has been discarded. Suchinput may include, for example, pressing a switch associated with theoven 102 containing the food item to be discarded or acknowledging aprompt on a computer screen. In some implementations, the on-boardcontrol system 312 and/or an off-board control system may have access toone or more sensors or imagers that may indicate the user has removedthe identified food item. Such sensors may include, for example, one ormore imagers (e.g., cameras) that may be used to visually confirm theoven 102 is empty and/or the food item has been placed in a wastebasket.Such sensors may include sensors on the oven door 116 that may detectwhen the door 116 to the oven 102 has been opened. The configurable ovenrack system may also include sensors in the oven rack slots 166 that maydetermine when a loadable oven 102 has been loaded into a correspondingoven rack slot.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exterior view of a vehicle 200 a is depictedthat includes a cab portion 202 and a cargo portion 204, according to atleast one illustrated implementation. The vehicle 200 a may include oneor more wheels 203 in contact with the ground and supporting the vehicle200 a in a position above the ground. The vehicle 200 a may furtherinclude a wireless communications interface, such as one or moreantennas 205 and one or more radios 213. The one or more antennas 205may, for example, be located on or above the roof of the cab portion202. The antenna(s) 205 and radio(s) 213 may be communicatively coupledto enable communication between components on the vehicle 200 a and anoff-board control system 207 located remotely from the vehicle via acommunications network 209. The cab portion 202 typically includes oneor more seats for a driver and passenger(s).

The cargo portion 204 may include a top side 206, a left exterior sidewall 208 a and a right exterior side wall 208 b (collectively exteriorside walls 208), a back wall 210, and a bottom side 212. The cargoportion 204 may have a width 214, a length 215 and a height 216. Thedimensions of the width 214, length 216, and height 216 of the cargoportion 204 may be based on local or state ordinances regardingdelivery, such as, for example, local or state ordinances governing fooddelivery vehicles. In some implementations, the dimensions of the width214, length 215, and height 216 of the cargo portion 204 may be smallerthan the maximum dimensions allowed by local or state ordinances.Smaller cargo portions 204 may be advantageous, for example, when thevehicle 200 a is to travel in or through neighborhoods or areas withnarrow roads and/or tight turns.

The back wall 210 may include one or more loading doors 218 sized anddimensioned to provide access to a cargo area (discussed below) enclosedwithin the cargo portion 204 of the vehicle 200 a. In someimplementations, the loading door(s) 218 may be a single door stretchingsubstantially across (i.e., >50%) the width 214 along the back wall 210.In such an implementation, the loading door 218 may include a single seto hinges 220 that may physically and rotationally couple the loadingdoors 218 to the vehicle 200 a, and be used to open the loading door218. In some implementations, the loading door 218 may comprise multipledoors, such as a set of double doors, that together stretchsubstantially across (i.e., >50%) the width 214 along the back wall 210.In such an implementation, each door may be physically and rotationallycoupled to the cargo portion 204 of the vehicle 200 a by a respective ofhinges.

The back wall 210 may include a personnel door 222 located within theloading door 218. The personnel door 222 may be physically, rotationallycoupled to the loading door 218 by a set of one or more hinges 224. Thepersonnel door 222 may rotate in the same direction or in the oppositedirection loading door 218 in which the personnel door 222 is locatedThe dimensions, e.g., width and height, of the personnel door 222 aresmaller than the corresponding dimensions of the loading door 218, forinstance <33% of the width 214 along the back wall 210. The personneldoor 222 may be set within the loading door 218 relatively closer to oneor the other exterior side walls 208 a and 208 b, or the personnel door222 may be centered within the loading door 218 relative to the exteriorside walls 208 a and 208 b. The personnel door 222 may be positioned toprovide access between the exterior of the vehicle 200 a to the cargoarea, an sized and dimensioned to receive a human therethrough (e.g., 36inches or 42 inches wide, 60 or more inches tall). The size, shape,dimensions, and/or location of the personnel door 222 may be setaccording to local or state ordinances, such as, for example, thoseordinances regarding health and safety for operating food deliveryand/or food serving vehicles. In some implementations, the loading door218 may include one or more additional small doors that may be smallerthan the personnel door 222. In some implementations, the small doorsmay enable food products to be passed from the cargo portion to a personor customer standing outside of the vehicle.

The cargo portion may further optionally include a ramp 226 that may beselectively deployed when the vehicle 200 a is in a stationary, parkedposition to stretch from a ground-level location behind the back wall210 of the vehicle 200 a to the cargo area towards the bottom side 212of the cargo portion 204. The ramp 226 may be used to roll supplies,equipment, or other material and out of the cargo area. In someimplementations, the ramp 226 may be used to roll supplies, equipment,or other material out of one vehicle 200 a and into another vehicle 200a. When not employed, the ramp 226 may be stowed within a cavityproximate the bottom side 212 of the cargo portion 204.

One or both of the exterior side walls 208 a and 208 b may include adisplay or monitor 228 oriented to display images, e.g, video images,towards the exterior of the vehicle 200 a. The display or monitor 228may be any type of display or monitor, such as, for example, a thinprofile LCD, OLED or similar type of screen. The display or monitor 228does riot extend into the cargo area. The display or monitor 228 may beone that uses a minimal amount of electrical power during operation. Thedisplay or monitor 228 may display any type of programming, includingstill images or moving images. In some implementations, the display ormonitor 228 may display a video feed captured by one or more cameraslocated within the cargo area of the vehicle 200 a. In someimplementations, such display or monitor 228 may provide advertisementsand/or a menu for the products being sold by the vehicle 200 a,

In some implementations, as discussed above, the vehicle 200 a may makefood items to order using one or more robots and/or assembly lineslocated within the cargo area of the cargo portion 204 of the vehicle200 a. In such an implementation, the cameras may capture live imagesor, alternatively, pre-recorded images, from the cargo area of themovements and positioning of the various robots when assembling fooditems. Such images may be displayed by the display or monitor 228 as aform of advertisement and/or entertainment for current and potentialcustomers. In some implementations, the display on the display ormonitor 228 may progressively or randomly provide different displays(e.g., menu, interior shot, advertisement) for defined periods of time.

In some implementations, additional devices may be used to attractattention to and provide additional marketing related to the vehicle 200a. For example, in some implementations, the vehicle 200 a may includelighting running around the edges and/or exterior side walls 208 a and208 b, a projector that may be used to project images onto the vehicle200 a and/or onto objects in the surrounding environment, and/or smartglass displays that may be used to create and/or optionally displayadvertisements along the exterior side walls 208 a and 208 b of thevehicle 200 a.

One or both of the exterior side walls 208 a and 208 b may include afood slot 230 that may be used to deliver a hot, prepared food item, forexample a pizza, that has been packaged for delivery. The size,dimension, and position of the food slot 230 may be based, for example,on the type of food item to be prepared and delivered. For example, afood slot 230 for pizza may be wider and shorter in height than a foodslot 230 used for prepared and packaged hamburgers. The food slot 230may be used to deliver food items automatically after the food item hasbeen prepared within the cargo area. One or both of the exterior sidewalls 208 a and 208 b may include a delivery port 232 providing accessto one or more delivery robots, such as flying food delivery robots(e.g., flying drones) or terrestrial food delivery robots (e.g., grounddrones), that may be used to carry and deliver prepared food to thefinal address.

In some implementations, the delivery robots may be used in lieu ofdelivery people. The delivery robots may be manually controlled by ahuman who is located locally or remotely from the delivery robot, and/orcontrolled autonomously, for example using location input or coordinatesfrom an on-board GPS or GLONASS positioning system and receiver from oneor more, wireless service provider cellular towers. In someimplementations, location input and/or positioning may be provided usingon-board telemetry to determine position, vision systems coupled withpre-recorded photos of the surrounding environment, peer-to-peerrelative positioning with other autonomous or non-autonomous vehicles,and/or triangulation with signals from other autonomous ornon-autonomous vehicles. In some implementations involving multipledelivery robots, the delivery robots may make deliveries duringoverlapping time periods.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an angled view is shown of the cargo area 300of the vehicle 200 b in which components along the interior side walls306 are included within recessed cavities 450 a, 450 b, according to atleast one illustrated implementation. The cargo area 300 includes afloor 302, a ceiling 304 a pair of interior side c ails 366,and a rearwall 308, which together delineate the cargo area 300. The cargo area300 may have a length 301, a width 303, and a height 305. The length 301may run from a front portion 307 of the cargo area 300 towards a backportion 309 of the cargo area 300. The go area 300 of the vehicle 200 bmay also include a service window.

The loading door 218 is rotationally coupled to the back wall 210 of thecargo portion 204 of the vehicle 200 b, and may provide access into thecargo 00 from the exterior of the vehicle 200 b. The loading door 218may be sized and dimensioned to enable the loading of equipment andsupplies into, and the unloading of equipment and supplies from, thecargo area 300. The loading door 218 may include a personnel door 222that may be sized and dimensioned to selectively provide access to thecargo area 300 to receive a human therethrough. The personnel door 222may be smaller in dimension (e.g., width) than the dimensions of theloading door 218. The rear wall 308 of the cargo area 300 may include adoor 310 or other opening sized and dimensioned to provide access to ahuman between the cab portion 202 and the cargo area 300 of the vehicle200 b.

The floor 302 may be a substantially fiat surface parallel to the groundand, forms a horizontal surface when the vehicle 200 b is parked on aflat, even surface. The floor 302 may be elevated above the set ofwheels 203 and corresponding wheel wells, located within the cargoportion 204 of the vehicle 200 b. As such, the wheels 203 and wheelwells may not interrupt or protrude above the floor 302. The floor 302may be comprised of aluminum, stainless steel, or any other lightweight,hard, durable surface, that is easily cleaned or sanitized. In someimplementations, a fire barrier may be adjacent to and underneath thefloor 302.

The cargo area 300 may include an on-board control system 312 that mayenable the vehicle 200 b to operate in a connected mode in which theon-board control system 312 is communicatively coupled to an off-boardcontrol system 207, as discussed previously. In the connected mode, theoff-board control system 207 may provide routing, delivery, and/orcooking instructions to components in the vehicle 200 b. The on-boardcontrol system 312 may be operable to function in a stand-alone mode inwhich the on-board control system 312 is not communicatively coupled tothe off-board control system. The on-board control system 312 may beoperable to enter a recovery mode at a time when the on-board controlsystem 312 regains a communication connection with the off-board controlsystem 207 and is transitioning from a stand-alone mode to a connectedmode.

The interior side walls 306 may comprise or consist of aluminum,stainless steel, or other lightweight, hard, durable material, which maybe easily cleaned or sanitized. In some implementations, the interiorside walls 306 may be comprised of food safe materials that may be usedin a food preparation or serving environment. The interior side walls306 may each be oriented to extend vertically between the floor 302 andthe ceiling 304, and be spaced relatively apart from each other toprovide space for food preparation and/or storage equipment to besecured within the cargo area 300. The interior side wall 306 mayinclude one or more food slots 230 through which prepared food items maybe provided to an operator or supplied to a customer located on theexterior of the vehicle 200 b. In some implementations, the interiorside wall(s) 306 may include one or more anchor tracks or rails 313extending from the floor 302 to the ceiling 304 of the cargo area 300.In some implementations, the anchor tracks or rails 313 may be evenlyspaced along the length 301 of the cargo area 300 and provide forloading of an almost unlimited variety of food preparation and cookingequipment in any number of configurations.

One or both of the interior side walls 306 may include a plurality ofrecessed cavities 450 a, 450 b arranged relative to the length 301and/or height 305 of the cargo area 300. Each of the recessed cavities450 a, 450 b may contain one or more of: a stationary post 414, a poweroutlet 324, a water port 326, a waste fluid port 328, an air port 330,and a communication port 332. The recessed cavities 450 a, 450 b may besufficiently recessed into the interior side walls 306 such that thecontained component or port does not intrude into the cargo area 300.The cavities 450 a, 450 b may be of various sizes, including a largerecessed cavity 450 a and a small recessed cavity 450 b. In someimplementations, the size of each cavity 450 a, 450 b may depend uponthe component or port contained within the cavity. For example, a largecavity 450 a may be used to contain a stationary post 414, and a smallcavity 450 b may be used to contain a power outlet 324 or any of thewater port 326, the waste fluid port 328, the air port 330, and/or thecommunication port 332.

In some implementations, covers 452 a, 452 b may be used to cover arecessed cavity 450 a, 450 b containing a component not currently beingused, for example, stationary posts 414 that have no attached foodpreparation and/or storage equipment. The covers 452 a, 452 b may becomprised of aluminum, stainless steel, or some other lightweight,durable material. The covers 452 a, 452 b may be selectively removablyphysically coupled to the interior side wall 306 and may cover arecessed cavity 450 a, 450 b when the covers 452 a, 452 b are physicallycoupled to the interior side wall 306. In some implementations, eachcover may be sized and dimensioned based upon the corresponding recessedcavity 450 a, 450 b the cover 452 a, 452 b is to be placed over. Assuch, the covers 452 a, 452 b may be of different sizes, for example,with large covers 452 a covering large recessed cavities 450 a and withsmall covers 452 b covering small recessed cavities 450 b.

The interior side walls 306 may each include a set of stationary posts414 that may be regularly spaced along the interior side wall 306relative to the length 301 and/or height 305 of the cargo area 300. Thestationary posts 414 may be accessed via one or more of the recessedcavities 450 a. The first interior side wall 306 includes a plurality ofthree stationary posts 414 (two shown). The second interior side wall306 may include a plurality of anchor access locations (three shown)arranged in two columns 415 a, 415 b and three rows 417 a, 417 b, 417 c.In some implementations, the second interior side wall 306 may includesix separate stationary posts 414. Alternatively, in someimplementations, the second wall 306 may contain two stationary posts414 extending between the floor 302 and the ceiling 304 of the cargoarea 300 with each of the stationary posts 414 accessed via the threecorresponding recessed cavities 450 a that form one of the two columns415 a, 415 b. The lonely posts 414 may be regularly spaced apart fromeach other along an axis extending between the front portion 307 of thecargo area 300 and the back portion 309 of the cargo area 300. Otherconfigurations and layouts of the stationary posts 414 may be possible.

In some implementations, the stationary posts 414 may be cylindrical inshape with a central axis extending vertically from one end of arecessed cavity 450 a, 450 b to the opposing end of the recessed cavity.One or more attachment locations 420 may be spaced axially along thestationary posts 414. The attachment locations 420 may be spaced anddimensioned along the stationary posts 414 to spatially align withcorresponding attachment points on food preparation and/or storageequipment to thereby secure the various food preparation and/or storageequipment that may be loaded into the cargo area 300 of the vehicle 200b. In some implementations, the attachment locations 420 may includeportions spaced axially along a stationary post 414 having a smallerradius than the remaining portions of the stationary post 414. As such,the attachment locations 420 may secure the attached food preparationand/or storage equipment from moving along the length 301, the width303, and the height 305 of the cargo area 300.

In some implementations, the cargo area 300 may include one or morecameras 340 that may be oriented to capture images of the cargo area300. Each of the cameras 340 may have a field of view 342 in which thecamera 340 may capture still or moving images. In some implementations,the field of view 342 of each camera 340 may encompass substantially theentire cargo area 300. In some implementations, the cameras 340 may beused to capture and provide live images. Such live images may betransmitted via the radio 213 and antenna 205 to a remote location, suchas to the off-board control system 207 so the food preparation anddelivery operations of the vehicle 200 b may be monitored. In someimplementations, the live images from the cameras 340 may be supplied tothe display or monitors 228 located along the exterior side wall(s) 208a and 208 b of the vehicle 200 b and visible from the exterior of thevehicle 200. In some implementations, the various cameras 340 and/ordisplays or monitors 228 may be attached to the ceiling 304 of thevehicle 200 or be attached to be flush against the interior side walls306. As such, the cameras 340 and/or displays or monitors 228 may notintrude into the floor 302 or interfere with the modular design of thecargo area 300, discussed above.

The various embodiments described above may be combined to providefurther embodiments. U.S. Pat. No. 9,292,889, issued Mar. 22, 2016,titled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF PREPARING FOOD PRODUCTS”; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/040,866, filed Feb. 10, 2016, titled, “SYSTEMSAND METHODS OF PREPARING FOOD PRODUCTS”; International application No.PCT/US2014/042879, filed Jun. 18, 2014, titled, “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OFPREPARING FOOD PRODUCTS”; U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No.62/311,787, filed Mar. 22, 2016, titled, “CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORT ANDSTORAGE OF FOOD PRODUCTS”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/465,228,filed Mar. 21, 2017, titled, “CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORT AND STORAGE OFFOOD PRODUCTS”; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/845,916, filed Dec.18, 2017, titled, “CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORT AND STORAGE OF FOODPRODUCTS”; U.S. patent application. Ser. 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No. 29/558,874, filedMar. 22, 2016, titled, “FOOD CONTAINER”; U.S. Design application Ser.No. 29/558,873, filed Mar. 22, 2016, titled, “FOOD CONTAINER COVER”;U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/558,872, filed Mar. 22 2016, titled,“FOOD CONTAINER BASE”; U.S. Design Patent No. D806,575, filed Aug. 18,2016, titled, “FOOD CONTAINER”; U.S. Design application Ser. No.29/618,670, filed Sep. 22, 2017, titled, “FOOD CONTAINER”; U.S. Designapplication Ser. No. 29/574,805, filed Aug. 18, 2016, titled, “FOODCONTAINER COVER”; U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/574,808, filedAug. 18, 2016, titled, “FOOD CONTAINER BASE”; and U.S. Designapplication Ser. No. 29/641,239, filed Mar. 20, 2018, titled “DISPLAYSCREEN WITH TRANSITIONAL GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE SET are eachincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration,various modifications may be made vithout deviating from the spirit andscope of the teachings. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosed embodiments.

1. An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item, the systemcomprising: an oven rack comprising: an array of oven slots to receivecorrespondingly shaped and sized ovens, a respective slot electricalinterface for each oven slot to provide electrical coupling for eachcorrespondingly shaped and sized oven when each correspondingly shapedand sized oven is inserted into a respective oven slot; a plurality ofloadable ovens insertable into the oven slots, each loadable ovencomprising: one or more heating elements, one or more respective doors,and a respective oven electrical interface, wherein a respective slotelectrical interface of an oven slot is electrically coupled to arespective oven electrical interface when a loadable oven is insertedinto a respective oven slot in the oven rack; a common electrical powerdistribution bus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces ofthe oven slots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable topower individual oven slots containing loadable ovens; and a temperaturecontrol system to control a temperature of one or more loadable ovenswithin the plurality of loadable ovens by regulating the one or moreheating elements of the ovens, the temperature control system includingat least one processor and at least one processor-readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor. 2.-6. (canceled)7. The system of claim 1, wherein the array of oven slots contained inthe oven rack is configured to translate in a horizontal direction, in avertical direction, in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction,or horizontally and vertically in a looping configuration within theoven rack. 8.-9. (canceled)
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the arrayof oven slots contained in the oven rack is configured to rotate withinthe oven rack about a central axis.
 11. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: one or more cameras and/or one or more proximity sensors toconfirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot, determine a positionof an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loaded with a food item, orcombinations thereof. 12.-13. (canceled)
 14. The system of claim 1,wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack is constructed toreceive one or more correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration unitsthat are loadable in the oven slots.
 15. (canceled)
 16. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the temperature control system is configured to modifya cooking profile of an oven based on one or more of quantity, size, andheating coefficients of food items that were recently cooked; humidity;starting temperature of the oven; or peak cooking temperature of theoven. 17.-22. (canceled)
 23. An oven rack system to facilitate heating afood item, the system comprising: an oven rack comprising: an array ofoven slots to receive correspondingly shaped and sized ovens, arespective slot electrical interface for each oven slot to provideelectrical coupling for each correspondingly shaped and sized oven wheneach correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into a respectiveoven slot; a plurality of loadable ovens insertable into the oven slots,each loadable oven comprising: one or more heating elements, one or morerespective doors, and a respective oven electrical interface, wherein arespective slot electrical interface of an oven slot is electricallycoupled to a respective oven electrical interface when a loadable ovenis inserted into a respective oven slot in the oven rack; and one ormore of: a transfer robot comprising: a robotic arm located in a cargoarea and movable with respect to at least a first one of a pair of sidewalls, and an end tool mechanically coupled to the robotic arm andselectively positionable to selectively interact with each of the ovensof the array of ovens; or a conveyor system housed within the oven rackand configured to translate or rotate the array of oven slots within theoven rack. 24.-25. (canceled)
 26. The system of claim 23, wherein theend tool of the robotic arm is selectively positionable to selectivelyinsert a respective food item into each of the ovens of the array ofovens or withdraw the respective food item from each of the ovens of thearray of ovens. 27.-28. (canceled)
 29. The system of claim 23, whereinthe robotic arm includes a finger extension to selectively interact withthe one or more respective doors of each of the ovens of the array ofovens.
 30. (canceled)
 31. The system of claim 23, wherein the roboticarm includes one or more of: robotic-based electrical key, arobotic-based mechanical key, a robotic-based transmission signal, arobotic-based actuation gripper, or combinations thereof configured toopen oven doors, insert the ovens into the array of oven slots, orremove the ovens from the array of oven slots; one or more cameras orone or more proximity sensors to confirm a position of a food item.32.-102. (canceled)
 103. An oven rack system to facilitate heating afood item, the system comprising: an oven rack comprising: an array ofoven slots to receive correspondingly shaped and sized ovens, arespective slot electrical interface for each oven slot to provideelectrical coupling for each correspondingly shaped and sized oven wheneach correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into a respectiveoven slot; and a plurality of loadable ovens insertable into the ovenslots, each of the loadable ovens comprising: one or more respectivedoors, a respective oven electrical interface, and an oven box, the ovenbox comprising: a floor, a ceiling spaced across a height of the ovenbox from a floor of the oven box, at least one side wall that extendsbetween the floor and the ceiling to at least partially delineate aninterior of the oven box from an exterior thereof, one or more upperheating elements proximate the ceiling, and one or more lower heatingelements proximate the floor, wherein the one or more upper heatingelements have a different pattern than a pattern of the one or morelower heating elements.
 104. The system of claim 103, wherein a patternformed by the one or more upper heating elements is individually matchedto cooking characteristics of a food item's upper surface, and a patternformed by the one or more lower heating elements is individually matchedto cooking characteristics of a food item's lower surface to evenly cookthe food items in the loadable ovens, when the cooking characteristicsof the food item's upper surface are different from the cookingcharacteristics of the food item's lower surface.
 105. The system ofclaim 103, wherein the a pattern formed by the one or more upper heatingelements and a pattern formed by the one or more lower heating elementsinclude longitudinal heating elements, traverse heating elements,grid-patterned heating elements, cross-hatch patterned heating elements,radially extending heating elements, concentric-circular patternedheating elements, a series of zig-zagging heating elements,volute-patterned heating elements, or combinations thereof. 106.-107.(canceled)
 108. The system of claim 103, wherein individual elements ofthe one or more upper heating elements, individual elements of the oneor more lower heating elements, or both, are movable to change cookingcharacteristics of the one or more heating elements and exchangeablewith a second set of upper heating elements or lower heating elementsthat have a different pattern for food items with different cookingcharacteristics. 109.-133. (canceled)
 134. The system of claim 103,further comprising: a support structure upon which the food item isplaced during a cooking process, the support structure includingelements that are spaced and patterned to have a minimum surface area incontact with the food items, wherein the elements are configured as agrate, a grill, a screen, a grid, cross-hatched, or combinationstherein.
 135. The system of claim 103, wherein the elements of thesupport structure are one or more of movable, bendable, or exchangeableto change the minimum surface area in contact with a food item basedupon the food item. 136.-139. (canceled)
 140. The system of claim 103,further comprising an electronic communications bus that interfaces witheach oven slot in the oven rack and is communicably coupled to anyloadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in the oven rack.141.-159. (canceled)
 160. The system of claim 103, further comprising: acombination refrigeration system, wherein the loadable ovens arethermally insulated units that each include one or more refrigerantcoils in addition to having one or more heating elements.
 161. Thesystem of claim 103, further comprising: a combination refrigerationsystem, wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are alsoconstructed to receive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigerationunits that are loadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens.162.-239. (canceled)